


watch us go round and round each time

by kazzashepard



Series: usagi/mamoru student/ta 'verse [2]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, POV First Person, drunk!Minako, spring breeeeeeak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-04-05 04:26:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4165827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazzashepard/pseuds/kazzashepard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Usagi just wants a nice week at the beach with her friends to blow off some steam and forget about a certain fling from last semester...but of course, Mamoru Chiba is staying in the house next door. <em>Of course.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> woot! sequel time! welcome back old readers and welcome new readers alike! this will be noticably shorter than _i should tell you to leave..._ so you guys don't have to wait as long for your happy ending  <3 prepare yourselves for spring break antics!
> 
> NOTE: this is a direct sequel to my previous fic [ _i should tell you to leave 'cause i (know exactly where it leads)_ ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3476138). I'm not saying you'll be totally lost if you don't read that first...but you'll be totally lost. ;D
> 
> 2ND NOTE: the civilian names for the Shitennou do NOT BELONG TO ME, they are the product of the amazing [ winterbones ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/winterbones) (and if she reads this and does not want these names used by me, just let me know and I'll change them, but they are just so much better than anything I could come up with.... D:)

*

 

Spring break seriously can not come fast enough. I don’t know what it is about spring semesters but I get burnt out twice as fast, so by the time March rolls along, I am dead on my feet and ready for vacation.

I was honestly looking to head to my parents’ for the week, spending the whole time freeloading off them, letting my mom do my laundry and cook for me and annoying the shit out of my brother.

But then, a few days before break starts, Ami tells us at dinner that her and her mom had rented a house at the beach for the week. But it turns out her mom can’t get time off from the hospital and so Ami was going to be alone for the week. Well, we couldn’t let her spend spring break alone and we certainly weren’t going to let a big ol’ beach house go to waste, so we gallantly volunteered to spend the week there instead.

And so a week at the beach with my girls? Definitely better than lounging at my parents’. Though I’ll miss messing with Shingo. Eh, whatever.

 

*

 

We let Mako drive us since she’s, unsurprisingly, the best driver out of all of us. She has a bit of road rage, but no where near as bad as Rei. Ami gets nervous and Minako just doesn’t pay attention. And I...don’t know how to drive. I live in a city after all, why would I need to know when there’re buses and subways and whatever?

Minako has a special “Girls Beach Trip” mix tape for us that she blasts way too loud as we drive, but we’re all in high spirits, so we don’t mind, we just sing louder and louder.

I wouldn’t say these past few months have been terrible. My grades are okay. Mako, Ami and I have decided to get an apartment together next term, so we’ve been searching for that. But it’s nice to get away from campus for a little while.

Okay and yeah, I want to get away for another reason. A boy-shaped reason. A boy-shaped reason that sort of completely broke my fucking heart right before the holidays.

I haven’t talked to the girls about Mamoru in _months_ , which is honestly for the best. The last time we spoke, I thought everything was going to be okay with us, that we would be able to date for real after our little illicit student/TA affair. But no, he broke up with me instead. And when I confessed that I loved him, he told me to leave, so...yeah, we’re not exactly on the best terms.

Or any terms, come to think of it.

The girls, I think, were starting to warm up to him too. Well, Mako and Ami were anyway. Rei is just distrustful naturally and I think Minako is still bitter that I had her keep my secret for way longer than she wanted (which she told the girls _anyway_ so I don’t know why she’s _still_ mad). She’s mentioned him a grand total of once since we got back to campus and it was to say that she hoped he had maybe died in a fire over break and I would never see him again. I honestly had no response to that.

We pull up to the house-- _our_ house, at least for the week--and man, Ami’s mom spared no expense. It’s at least three floors, including the basement with adjoining garage, big bay windows and our own deck with beach access. Mako whistles, holding her hand over her eyes to shield the sun as she surveys our temporary home-away-from-home. “Damn, Ami,” she says.

“Yeah, your mom picked some sweet digs,” Minako adds. She pops the trunk and starts fishing our luggage out.

“No one says ‘sweet digs’ anymore,” Rei deadpans.

“No one asked you, _Rei_.”

“Girls, please,” Ami mutters.

We follow her up to the front door and we all collectively gasp at the foyer which has an honest to god chandelier hanging in it.

“I’m going to get drunk and hang from it,” Minako announces seriously.

“ _No, you are not_!” Rei and Mako shout at the same time.

I just laugh, secretly glad that I get to deal with their antics for a week instead of schoolwork or whatever else.

There are five bedrooms, two pairs with adjoining bathrooms on the second floor and then one on the first floor with its own. Minako wants to claim that one, but we all give her a death glare until she relents and lets Ami take it since it’s her mom who rented this house after all. Mako and Minako take one side and Rei and I take the other.

The bedrooms are stupidly huge and each with their own balcony. Like seriously, how much money does Ami’s mom have? Or maybe it was just a deal? I don’t care, flopping down on the feathersoft bed with a sigh.

Yeah, this is going to be a good week.

 

*

 

We spend the afternoon exploring the surrounding area and going grocery shopping. Mako takes point and plans meals for us for the week because she is a domestic goddess. She then prepares us delicious homemade meat sauce for spaghetti and pops open a bottle of wine she bought since she turned 21 in December. Poor Rei doesn’t have her birthday for another two weeks, so we rely solely on Mako for our booze.

“To spring break!” Minako yells, hoisting her glass into the air. We all echo her toast and drink deeply.

I head out onto our deck after dinner, having narrowly avoided dishwashing duties. The air is nice and cool, the wind blowing the salt scent from the ocean towards me. I curl up in one of the deck chairs with my glass, and sigh. Maybe I’ll move to the beach when I graduate…

“Hey.”

I turn toward the neighboring house, also an extravagant, triple story one like ours. There’s a guy, pretty young as far as I can tell, leaning against the railing on his deck. He has curly strawberry blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, wearing a loose cotton shirt and a devilish smirk.

“How are you doing?” he asks.

“Um, fine?” Not exactly up for my quiet time being interrupted, but thanks. I start to stand up to go back inside, but he calls out, “Wait! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“Sure,” I reply in a clipped tone.

“Just wanted to meet the neighbors,” he continues. “You know how it is, right?”

“Uh huh.” Can I go inside now? My hand is on the latch for the screen door when I hear another male voice from the other deck.

“Zeke, are you bothering our neighbors. Jesus, man, we can’t take you anywhere.”

Oh my god...I _know_ that voice. It can’t be…

Oh, but it is. Mamoru Chiba, former TA extraordinaire, physics genius, grad student, and technically my ex? What the hell is he _doing_ here?

“I’m just being friendly, Mamo. God, you are such a wet blanket. Why do we take _you_ anywhere?”

Mamoru finally looks at me and I take a certain amount of glee in the sheer shock and horror on his face. “ _Usagi_?” he splutters.

I fold my arms, leveling him with my most annoyed glare. I live with Minako, I’ve perfected it. “Mamoru.”

“Wait, you _know_ her?” his friend--Zeke, I think?--says.

“Yeah, it’s, uh...complicated,” Mamoru says. Understatement of the freaking century.

Without another word, I just open the door and hurry inside. Once the door is shut and latched, I let out a huge sigh. _Seriously_? I can’t have one fucking vacation without _him_ ruining everything. Okay, get it together, Usagi. Just because he’s staying in the house next to you doesn’t mean you have to see him or talk to him. It will be _fine_.

Maybe if I keep telling myself that, it’ll actually be true.

 

*

 

As soon as I’m inside, I resolve not to make the same mistake I did last semester and keep this a secret from the girls. They may flip out or whatever, but I’ll handle it honestly with them instead of running around, trying to hide things.

Ami’s helping Mako put away leftovers, Rei’s chilling on the couch. I’m about to tell them what just happened, when Minako comes bursting in, still out of breath from her evening run.

“You guys are never going to _believe_ who I just met!” She plops down next to Rei and starts pulling off her sneakers, throwing her sweaty hair over her shoulder.

“Chris Pratt is the only person that I can think of that would warrant that _volume_ to your voice,” Rei snaps.

Minako just ignores her. “His name is Kadir and he’s staying the house next to us,” she squeals. “You guys don’t _understand_ how hot he is. Like better-than-male-model hot. Like a Greek god and a model had a baby.”

“Which next door?” Ami asks since we have neighbors on both sides.

I silently plead for her not to indicate the house in which I know Mamoru is temporarily residing, but the gods are not that kind to me. Minako points with fervor and then declares, “He and a bunch of his friends are staying there for the week and they’re having a party tomorrow night!” She folds her arms. “We’re all going, no exceptions.”

“You can’t mandate us to go to a party, Minako,” Rei points out.

“It’s _spring break_! We are supposed to have fun and make questionable decisions!”

“Um...guys?” I say, trying to interrupt, but Minako is on a roll about this guy and his party.

“They’ve got a hot tub!” Minako swoons. “I’m so having sex in a hot tub. It’s on my bucket list.”

“You are _not_ having sex in a hot tub,” Mako interjects. “Do you know what kind of diseases can breed in those things?”

“It’s got chlorine in it, right? Ami, back me up here.”

Ami just sighs and shakes her head. Poor Ami. She’s probably regretting inviting us to stay with her this week.

“Guys!” Four heads snap my way. “Um, I have to tell you something.”

“Well, you can’t be pregnant because you haven’t had sex in for _ever_ ,” Minako drawls. “Oh wait, it’s only been a few months...I forgot about _him_.”

I roll my eyes at Minako’s continued vendetta against Mamoru, but that does bring me to my point. “Yeah, about that...um…”

“Spit it out, Usagi,” Rei snaps.

“Yeah, what’s going on?” Ami asks.

“Mamoru’s staying in the house next door. Um...Kadir’s house.” I can’t believe I remembered that guy’s name. Minako probably won’t be able to remember his name.

“How do you know?” Mako asks.

I tell them about my little impromptu meeting on the deck with that other guy and Mamoru. “Apparently, Mamoru is friends with your buddy, Kadir,” I say to Minako once I’m finished.

“No. Nope. Nada. No way,” Minako shakes her head. “I refuse to believe that someone as drool-worthy as Kadir is friends with a human slug like Mamoru Chiba.” 

Rei laughs. “Oh come on, Minako, I wouldn’t call Mamoru a human slug.”

“You’re right. That’s too complimentary.”

That makes us all laugh and I already feel better. The girls can help buffer me from Mamoru, no problem. I trust them. I just hope he doesn’t come to some horrible accident because of Minako’s antics.

“Wait, what about the party tomorrow?” Mako points out. “Mamoru will probably be there, you know, since he’s staying at the house.”

“I guess you don’t have to go, Usagi, if you’re trying to avoid him,” Rei says. She narrows her eyes at me and adds, “You _are_ trying to avoid him, aren’t you?”

“Of course!” I say, probably a little too quickly. I mean, I would prefer to avoid him since it means I don’t have to confront the fact that he just dumped me with a pretty shoddy reason. But it’s not like you just suddenly get over someone you were (and probably still are) in love with. Every time my anger boils up inside me over him, I remember something sweet he said to me, or how he always played with my hair when we went to sleep, and hell, even how he called me “dumpling head.”

Ugh. I swear I _am_ going to avoid him. But I won’t say the temptation isn’t there.

“It’s probably for the best, Usagi,” Mako says, patting my shoulder.

“Yeah,” Minako exclaims. “Fuck that guy!” She pauses, then says, “But don’t _fuck_ that guy. Right?”

We all groan collectively. Sometimes I wonder why I’m friends with Minako. But then again, life would be so boring without her.

 

*

 

Sometime during the day, as we laze about our back deck, soaking up the sunshine, I come to the conclusion that I _will not_ let Mamoru Chiba ruin my vacation. If I want to go to a house party with my girls, then I will go, regardless of whether he is there or not.

I announce this to them as we start getting ready to go over to the party. “Good for you, Usagi,” Minako says, searching through her suitcase for her shortest skirt.

“We’ll run interference, if we have to,” Mako reminds me. “You know we will.”

“Thanks, girls,” I say with a smile. I really do have the best friends ever.

Despite Minako’s protests, Mako insists on bringing an appetizer with us as a gift. “This is not some housewarming, wine-and-dine party, Mako,” Minako hisses while Ami rings the doorbell of Kadir’s house. “This is a get-wasted, lots-of-tequila, pants-in-the-air, crazy party!”

“And how do you know that?” Mako replies, eyebrow raised in skepticism.

“I just...do.”

“Right.”

A very tall, very broad-shouldered gentleman with thick, wavy brown hair answers the door. “Hey,” he says. “You must be our neighbors. Come in.”

Mako is already starry-eyed and Ami and I exchange looks. Seems like Minako isn’t the only one we’ll have to keep an eye on tonight. Although Mako is much more responsible than Minako is.

Mako disappears with our large greeter into what I assume is the kitchen while the rest of us follow Minako into the living room. The house Ami’s mom rented is nice and extravagant, but this one just oozes expensive and high class. The basic layout is almost the same, although mirrored, but the furnishings and decorations are way more... _posh_ than our house. If there weren’t so many fucking people here, I’d be afraid of bumping into something.

Despite my previous conviction, I find myself scanning the crowd ( _wow seriously there are a lot of people here_ ) to see if I can find Mamoru. To avoid him, of course.

It doesn’t take Minako long to find her boy toy, Kadir, and they disappear as well, leaving me alone with Rei and Ami.

We’re almost to the drink station when I see him, laughing at something the blonde guy at his side has said. I immediately turn around, hoping he won’t notice me.

“What?” Rei says when I turn heel and almost smack into her. She glances over my shoulder and mutters, “Oh.”

“You guys have got to keep me away from him,” I say, an edge of desperation in my tone.

“We promised we would, Usagi. Don’t worry,” Ami says, patting my shoulder.

“No, you don’t _understand_.” I sigh. “I don’t trust myself. If he bats his eyelashes and says he’s sorry, even if he doesn’t mean it, I will crumble and totally hop back into bed with him.” It’s what I’ve been avoiding even thinking about since I saw Mamoru on our neighbor’s deck, something I didn’t want to admit even to myself. That I would happily pretend nothing ever happened if he said even one nice word to me. _Ugh_.

“Do you really think he’d say sorry if he didn’t mean it,” Rei asks, her eyebrow raised incredulously.

“I mean...no, probably not.” I rub my eyes. “Maybe we should just go.”

“Let’s have one drink at least,” Ami says with a shrug. Surprise must have been apparent on both mine and Rei’s faces because Ami just rolls her eyes. “What? Just because I don’t want to get wasted doesn’t mean I don’t want to have some fun too.”

Rei volunteers to get the drinks so I can avoid any possible Mamoru-encounters, and so Ami and I stake out a relatively quiet spot in the living room corner.

While it’s not a pants-on-the-head crazy party like Minako had earlier suggested, it’s also not exactly an intimate get-to-know-you party. We don’t know anyone and I’m so anxious about seeing Mamoru again that I definitely don’t feel like socializing.

“Maybe we should just go home?” Ami has to shout to be heard over the bass. “I’m bored.”

“Me too,” Rei agrees. She downs the last of her drink and waves for us to follow her.

I can hear Minako shrieking with laughter somewhere in the recesses of the house, but as much as I worry for her sometimes, it also isn’t my job to babysit her. And I guess, if these guys _are_ Mamoru’s friends, they can’t be horrible people, right?

Ugh. I’m going to regret this. “Wait, we can’t leave Minako and Mako here,” I say.

“They’ll be fine,” Rei says with a wave of her hand. “They’re adults.”

“Debatable on Minako’s part.” Mako I am honestly not worried about. She’s pretty hook-up smart. But Minako….

“Fine, you go get her then,” Rei snaps. “ _We’re_ going home.” And she and Ami disappear into the crowd, heading to the door.

I roll my eyes and turn toward the sound of Minako’s laughter. I find her on the deck, in the hot tub, like she promised. But since she didn’t bring a bathing suit, she’s just in her underwear and bra, a very full cup of something alcoholic in her hand. She is surrounded by people, mostly men, and is talking very, _very_ loudly.

So very Minako.

“Hey, Mina?” I say gently.

“ _Usagi_!” she squeals. “Guys, this is my best friend ever, Usagi. Usagi, say hi to the guys.”

I wave awkwardly at her companions and then turn my attention back to her, “Mina, honey, we need to go home now, okay?”

“Whaaaat? No way! I’m having a blast.” She exaggerates her movements a little too much and ends up spilling half of her drink into the hot tub and onto the guy next to her. “Oops. Sorry.”

“Mina, seriously, you’re way too drunk.” I pull on her arm. “Let’s go.”

“You aren’t my mom, Usagi, _god_ ,” she snaps. “Go find your fuck buddy and leave me alone.”

I take a deep breath and remind myself that Minako is still my friend and I cannot leave her in a hot tub, drunk, surrounded by strange men.

“Minako, let’s go. _Now_.”

“Make me.” She sticks her tongue out at me and downs part of her drink.

“Fine.” I reach under her arms and pull her out of the hot tub, which is quite difficult because she’s fighting me and she’s also soaking wet. I manage to get her out though with some help from her new “friends.”

“Usagi, oh my god, what is _wrong_ with you?” she screeches once she’s back on solid ground.

“Right now? You.” I grab her arm and start pulling her toward the deck stairs. We’ll just cross over to our deck and make Rei and Ami let us in. Minako’s about two seconds from crashing anyway and I don’t feel like dragging her through the crowded house.

She might be two seconds from crashing, but she’s still fighting me. In her underwear. Soaking wet. This is so ridiculous, even for her.

I’m pulling her toward the stairs when I collide with someone very tall and very solid. “Watch where you’re--oh _shit_.”

Of course, it’s Mamoru. With my luck, it couldn’t be anyone else. “What’s going on…?” He trails off when he notices the wet, partially naked Minako.

“She’s drunk.” Be more obvious, Usagi, really. “Can you help me get her home? Please?”

To Mamoru’s credit, he doesn’t question anything. He just hoists Minako over his shoulder and says, “Lead the way.”

“Let me go, you creep!” Minako shrieks. “Let me go, let me go!”

I lead Mamoru over to our house, hoping that maybe the back door isn’t locked. But this night just gets better and better because it is, of course, locked. With a sigh, I bang on the glass until Ami appears, confused and already wrapped up in her robe for bed.

“What…?”

“Don’t ask,” I snap. Ami is more fixated on Mamoru though than a shrieking, drunk Minako. That she has seen before.

“Her room’s upstairs,” I say.

Mamoru follows obediently and by the time we get upstairs to Minako’s room, she’s sound asleep. Mamoru deposits her on the bed and then hightails it out of the room for which I do not blame him at all.

Rei decides to handle getting Minako in bed for me. I think she feels bad for leaving her there and, more importantly, leaving _me_ there to deal with her.

Mamoru’s talking to Ami when I get back downstairs. “Um, thanks,” I say, suddenly awkward. “For...that.”

“No problem,” Mamoru replies.

Ami, bless her, notices the tension between us, and says, “Um, I’m going to go check and see if Rei needs anything.” And disappears upstairs, leaving me and Mamoru alone in the living room.

“I should probably go,” Mamoru says after a moment of awkward silence.

“Yeah,” I say. It’s weird being in the same room as him after all those months without him. I got used to him being a part of my life and then he wasn’t just as quickly and now...it’s just weird.

And I want to hate him. I want to be mad at him for blowing me off after promising that we could still be together. But he’s so cute standing there, rubbing the back of his neck, waiting for me to say something. And he helped me with Minako without even a second thought. Why can’t he be an actual jerk instead of just a sort of careless but nonetheless sweet guy?

See this is what I was worried about! I don’t want to start remembering how cute and sweet he is, I want to stay angry. I mean I don’t _want_ to...but...ugh why is this so complicated.

He heads to the back door and waves. “See you around, I guess,” is all he says, disappearing into the night.

Oh, don’t go after him, Usagi. That is a can of worms you do not want to open. And I promised to not let my vacation get ruined by him.

But I want an explanation, dammit!

No. I don’t want to talk myself into circles about this. He said he didn’t want to see me anymore, so I’m going to keep my distance. Completely avoid him. It’s the best course of action...right?

Okay, that settles it. I’m about to turn around and head upstairs to check on Minako when the back door opens again. “Mamoru?” He slips back inside, pushing the door closed behind him to shut off the blast of ocean air. “What are you doing?”

“Look, I know you probably don’t want to see me or talk to me, but--”

“Gee, and they say you can’t read people well,” I snap. “I do _not_ want to see you. Or talk to you. Or have you standing in my living room.” Not _entirely_ true, but….

“Usagi, I’m _sorry_ about...you know, everything.”

And how easy would it be for me to say, “Oh no, that’s fine! You are forgiven, no problem!” I mean, he _looks_ sorry. He’ll barely look at me and he’s leaning against the glass door, clearly trying to put as much space between us as possible. But just when I’m about to say something, give him a little hope, my mind flashes back to that afternoon in his apartment.

 _I-I love you_.

_You should go, Usagi._

Yeah, no, he’s definitely not being forgiven that easily.

“You’re _sorry_? Sorry for what exactly? Leading me on? Breaking up with me for...what reason exactly? Because you were never quite clear on why you _suddenly_ didn’t want to be with me.”

Mamoru waves his hands around in an all-encompassing gesture, his expression completely sincere. “I’m sorry for all of that. Everything. Really.”

Before I can respond, he continues, “I want to make it up to you. I really do.”

“I’m not interested.” Woah, I didn’t know my voice could sound that cold. “You don’t get to just decide when we’re together and when we aren’t. My heart can’t _take_ that, Mamoru.”

“Usagi, just wait--”

“ _No_ ,” I yell. Mamoru looks startled and if he could, he would probably take a step back, but he can’t exactly meld through glass, so that’s out. I take a deep breath and keep going in a calmer tone, “I can’t trust anything you say anymore, Mamoru. You fed me exactly what I wanted to hear instead of being honest with me. How am I supposed to trust you now?” I sigh. “I just...I need time to deal with this, okay?”

Mamoru opens his mouth to respond and then closes it. “I’m...I’ll just go.”

“That’s probably for the best.” I turn around and head upstairs, pausing only for a second at the landing to make sure I hear the door shut.

“Everything okay?” Rei comes out of Minako’s room, Ami close behind. I can tell from Rei’s expression that Ami told her what was going on. Though I’m sure they could hear me yell.

“Yeah.” I did the right thing, but why do I feel so shitty about it? “I told him to...just give me some space.” Well, not in those exact words, but that was the basic gist.

“Are you okay?” Rei asks, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m just--” I yawn suddenly, the events of the evening suddenly weighing down on me. “I think I’m gonna head to bed.” It’s tough to believe that only a few hours ago we were all high on life and heading to a party.

I bid the girls goodnight and head to my room. I sit on the bed in my PJs for a minute, just trying to figure out what I’m doing. Am I officially done with Mamoru? He wants a second chance, I mean, he wouldn’t have apologized if he didn’t. But am I even ready for that? I’m still in love with him, but I can’t not feel the sting of our breakup.

But if I did give him a second chance...we could date for real. Go out in public, not sneak around behind everyone’s backs. I could figure out what he freaked out about that made him break up with me.

I flop backwards onto the pillows and sigh. It’s nothing I’m going to figure out tonight. I grab my headphones, flipping through my music until I find something tranquil enough to lull me to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that's chapter 1! don't worry too much, as i said this story is much shorter than its predecessor and while usagi's still upset, she's also a pretty forgiving person. mamoru's gonna have to work extra hard though to make it up to her.......


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday, Usagi! In honor of your day of birth, I'll let some nice things happen with you and Mamoru ;D

*

 

When I wake up the next morning, I’m surprisingly refreshed and clear-headed. Was I unfair to Mamoru last night? Hell no, boy got what he deserved and he needed to know that whatever the fuck happened right before the semester’s end was _not_ okay.

But does that mean I’m totally done and not going to give him another chance? Eh, not exactly.

Because sleeping on it made me realize that Mamoru and I were a pretty _good_ couple. We enjoyed each other’s company and helped each other out when we needed it. When I had a bad day or was stressed, I knew I could call him and he would make me feel better, either by distracting me or helping me get through whatever was stressing me out.

Also, yes, the sex was pretty amazing and I’d love to get back to that too. You know, eventually.

My mind made up, I head downstairs to breakfast.

Minako doesn’t look as terrible as I thought she would when I join the others downstairs. She does refuse the toast that Rei makes since Mako is MIA. Ami just pushes a glass of water and two aspirin towards her with a sigh.

“I’m scared to ask what happened to be honest,” Minako mumbles, dropping her head to the table with a _thunk_.

“The usual,” Rei says, her tone bored. This isn’t an unusual occurrence for our dear Minako unfortunately. “Lucky Mamoru was there to help bring you home.”

Minako’s head shoots up. “You mean I _didn’t_ dream that? God _dammit_.”

Rei cackles loudly and even Ami’s lips quirk up at the corners. Then they both turn to me, apologetic looks on their faces.

“It’s fine,” I say with a wave of my hand. “I’m glad he was there too. I couldn’t have carried you all the way over here by myself.”

“Is that a fat joke?” Minako snaps, though her voice lacks any kind of venom. Rei and Ami just snicker.

Okay, time to drop the bomb, so to speak. “Besides,” I continue, idly stirring honey into my tea. “I think I might give him another chance.”

All eyes turn to me. Minako’s too hungover to really be angry, but Rei’s eyes are on _fire_. “What?” she says, her voice a deadly whisper.

“Um…,” I begin.

They all wait for me to continue, but how do I explain this? With the truth, I guess. Ugh.

“Look, I’m still pissed okay?” I say, folding my arms defensively. “But he seems to be genuinely sorry. And what kind of person would I be if I didn’t even attempt to patch things up with him?”

“Usagi,” Rei says, grabbing my arms so I have to look at her. “ _Of course_ , Mamoru is trying to make up with you _now_. You’re staying next door to each other. He wants to get laid whenever the mood strikes him, so he’s just being extra nice.”

The idea is so ridiculous that I almost laugh out loud, but I pretend to consider Rei’s words. “Well, if I do decide to see him again, we’re definitely taking it slow.” Like _really_ slow.

“This is a _horrible_ idea, Usagi, and let the record show that _I_ , the queen of bad ideas, said that,” Minako announces. She then winces at the volume of her own voice.

Well Minako and Rei have made their positions known, but they’re not exactly the most level-headed of my friends. They have their moments when they can be right, but their emotions are always at the forefront. I turn to Ami. “What do you think?”

Ami looks startled that I would even ask, and of course, she thinks for a minute before saying anything. “I think you should do what you think is right. You’re an adult.” She smiles. “I trust you.”

“Aww, thank you, Ami!” I throw my arms around her neck and she laughs.

“Would you just think _harder_ about this than just, ‘oh he looked really sorry last night!’” Rei snaps. “As much as I love you, I’d rather avoid your holiday depression replaying itself when he dumps you again.”

Wow, harsh, Rei. Though not unfounded, I suppose. “Fine, I promise not to rush into anything.” Rei nods, though I can tell she isn’t one-hundred percent convinced.

We’re silent for a few moments before the front door opens and in slinks Makoto, looking thoroughly satisfied if a bit sheepish.

“Where have _you_ been?” I tease as she comes into the kitchen.

“Nowhere….” Mako says, though I can tell from her tone that she’s bursting to tell us.

“Spill,” Rei commands.

Mako tells us about her grand conquest, i.e. Nate, an apparently soft-spoken but charming farm boy from North Dakota of all places. According to Mako, he’s very sweet and also the best sex she’s ever had and probably ever will have. “And he wants to see me again tonight,” she giggles.

“Look at our Makoto, having a spring break fling,” I say.

“Well, you still have to help run interference between Usagi and Mamoru,” Rei says. “To prevent _that_ spring break fling.”

Mako looks adorably confused. “Wait, I thought you weren’t talking to him?”

“I haven’t decided yet!” I wail. “But I’d like for us to make up.”

“And hook up,” Rei adds under her breath. I smack her arm.

Mako leans against the counter while we change the subject to what we’re going to do that day. Obviously, some beach time is in order, so that’s my immediate vote.

“Well, Nate said the guys were going to hit the beach this morning and we’re welcome to join them?” Mako says.

“Nope,” Rei says. “No way. And you specifically aren’t going, missy.” She directs this last bit at me.

“ _Rei_ ,” I whine. “You aren’t my mother.”

Minako opens her mouth to agree with Rei, but a look crosses her face as she realizes something. “Wait,” she says, “Nate said _all_ the guys would be on the beach today?”

Mako nods, her brow furrowing in confusion.

“That means _Kadir_ will be there,” Minako says, her voice dreamy. She stands up a little too quickly, holding her head with a grimace. She then regains her confidence and says, “Alright ladies! Swimsuits on! We’re hitting the beach in fifteen minutes.”

“Minako, you can’t be serious,” Rei says.

“I’m totally serious.” She rolls her eyes. “We can easily run interference between Usagi and her dork man-candy. _And_ I can flirt with Kadir!” She squeals and runs upstairs before we can say anything else.

We watch Minako disappear upstairs, matching looks of disbelief on our faces.

“So, did Mamoru apologize or what?” Mako asks once Minako’s gone.

“Sort of...I mean, he did, but I kind of...yelled at him instead.” I wince, thinking about that last part.

“Serves him right,” Rei mutters.

Minako comes thundering downstairs then--and seriously, how does she have so much energy when she’s hungover? “Ladies! Time’s a-wasting. Let’s get those suits on and hit the beach!”

We all exchange looks and sigh.

 

*

 

The boys have already pitched their covering and are working on setting up a volleyball net when we finally get out there. Mamoru is helping Kadir with the net and is only in his swim trunks, his back already glistening with sweat from the heat and physical exertion.

Ugh, okay, _not_ helping my current situation.

Minako lowers her shades, blatantly checking out Kadir. When she catches me looking at her incredulously, she just giggles. “What?”

Rei and Mako work on getting out umbrellas up and I totally notice the way Nate saunters over to help them, and the way Mako playfully shoves him when he reaches past her to secure the umbrella. It’s pretty cute.

I make eye contact for a split second with Mamoru and then quickly go and help Ami with the beach chairs. _Just talk to him, Usagi_.

Before I can make the decision though, Minako calls to the general group, “Hey who’s up for a friendly volleyball game? Girls versus guys?”

I don’t know what her angle is, but it can’t be good. Volleyball isn’t just a game to Minako, captain of the varsity women’s team. She, Mako and Rei decide to go up against Mamoru, Nate and Kadir, who just seems amused by Minako’s endless enthusiasm. Maybe they will make a good pair. Ami and I wait on the sidelines with Zeke and another guy I haven’t met yet. He looks younger than all the others, his sandy blond hair flopping forward in his face.

“I’m Jun,” he says, shaking mine and Ami’s hands. “Short for Junichi.”

“Nice to meet you,” Ami says with a polite smile. I’m too busy holding my breath waiting for Minako to unleash her unholy fury through beach volleyball.

It doesn’t take long. They let her serve first and she drives the ball straight toward Mamoru who only barely makes it before the ball hits the sand. It goes like this for awhile. Every time Minako gets the ball, she sends it toward Mamoru if she can, her spikes and serves getting more and more violent as the game wears on.

The girls win and Minako flips her hair triumphantly, staring daggers at Mamoru and the guys. But if she was expecting to humiliate them with her victory, she is sorely mistaken. The guys are just laughing, obviously having a great time despite their staggering loss. I watch Minako’s jaw drop, fury in her blue eyes.

“Well, I guess we know why you’re on the volleyball team,” Kadir says, shaking his head.

“That’s our little athlete,” Rei teases, patting Minako’s head. She swats Rei’s hand away and chases her around our campsite, screeching.

Amidst the chaos, Mamoru’s eyes catch mine and I find myself grinning at the amusement I see there.

We decide to take a swim to cool off after that, Ami toasting all of us with her swimming skills. Zeke surprises me by being pretty quick as well, and he and Ami race back and forth for awhile, trying to outdo each other, although their competition is _actually_ friendly.

Minako decides finally to forgo antagonizing Mamoru in favor of flirting hardcore with Kadir. Man, I thought Mamoru was hard to read, but Kadir is like a statue. I can’t tell if Minako is affecting him at all, either negatively or positively. It doesn’t faze her though. Nothing does.

She eventually convinces Kadir to play chicken with her, but of course she needs a pair of opponents. She tries to get Mako and Nate, but they decide to forgo any more physical activity for cuddling on a beach blanket. Ami and Zeke are too far out in the surf, and also too engaged in their little race. Rei just plain refuses, which just leaves…me and Mamoru.

“I’m game,” Mamoru says with a shrug, looking at me expectantly. I mean, it’s just a silly game. Why should I be worried? Answer: I _shouldn’t_ be.

With little difficulty, I climb up on Mamoru’s shoulders. He takes a second to get his balance right and I yelp, grabbing onto his hair. “Easy, dumpling head,” he says with a laugh, reaching up to grasp my hands so I can steady myself. “I’ve got you.”

“So you say,” I mutter, hoping that the blush I feel rising on my face isn’t super apparent in the bright sunshine. I can blame it on the heat. That’s easy enough.

We face off against the other two, Minako sitting smugly atop Kadir’s shoulders. Mamoru takes a step forward and warily let go of his hands so I can shove Minako (and wipe that smirk off her face).

“Getting a little sunburn, Usagi?” Minako asks cheerfully. “You look a little pink.”

Oh my _god_ , she knows exactly what she’s doing, god damn her. She gets to sit atop her Greek god/model’s shoulders and embarrass me at the same time! Grrr...suddenly it’s not that hard to try and push her over.

I reach for her shoulders and shove, but Kadir sees the action and ducks into it, keeping them both upright. Minako’s being surprisingly docile, except for her smirk that just keeps widening.

“What _are_ you grinning at?” I finally ask.

“I know your weakness,” she sing-songs.

“Oh?”

“You’re….,” she pauses for dramatic effect, “ _ticklish_!”

“Don’t you _dare_!” I shriek when she somehow _launches_ forward even from atop Kadir’s shoulders and tickles my sides. It doesn’t take long for me to lose my balance, falling backward and dragging Mamoru with me as I try to stay upright. I tumble under the water, which is cool and welcome in the blazing heat, but I don’t enjoy it for long, quickly surfacing to give Minako the meanest glare I can muster.

To my right, Mamoru surfaces as well, exchanging a glance with me that clearly reads, _Oh this will not go unpunished_. I nod, slinking forward in the water, Mamoru still at my side, while Minako does some kind of victory dance, though she can only use her arms. I take Kadir’s left while Mamoru stays on the right and together we push him (no easy feat, the man is like a fucking _mountain_ ), watching with glee as him and Minako go toppling into the water.

Minako’s head pops up, her bangs sticking to the front of her face. “Ugh,” she says. “I guess I deserved that.” Kadir just shakes his head.

Mamoru and I high-five at our revenge and it’s then that I remember that I’m supposed to be mad at him. But...I’m having so much _fun_. It’s nice just getting to hang out with him again. And I’m guessing he feels the same since he’s laughing, splashing water at Kadir.

This is a side of him that I haven’t really seen, I realize. Sure, we had fun together. We joked and teased each other. But this Mamoru is so... _carefree_. Just playing around with his friends, having a good time. It’s so nice.

We head back to the shore to dry off and relax. Mako and Nate are still so wrapped up in each other, sharing the same beach towel and making kissy faces at each other. I lay out my towel next to Rei, who keeps giving me suspicious looks. Ugh, like now I’m not supposed to even _talk_ to Mamoru or be friendly? Whatever. 

Kadir’s suggesting that we all go out on his boat (because _of course_ he has a boat) tomorrow afternoon, and naturally, Minako thinks this suggestion is _marvelous_. She’s pressing Kadir for more details about...well, everything, when Mamoru and I glance at each other. Mamoru jerks his head away from the rest of the group, and before I can overthink it, I nod. We both slip away before Rei, or worse, Minako notice that we’re leaving.

 

*

 

“Okay so what is their _deal_?”

It’s Zeke who breaks the silence, of course. Usagi and Mamoru have only been gone for a few minutes, but Zeke seems the type to need to fill silences, even when it’s truly unnecessary. Rei sighs.

“I’m going to assume you mean Usagi and Mamoru,” Mako says, dragging her face away from Nate’s for a second to join the conversation. _How thoughtful of her_ , Rei thinks.

“Uh duh,” Zeke says. “You could cut that tension with a butter knife, am I right?” He tries to nudge Jun in the side, who scoots away from him, making Zeke fall over into the sand.

“Better question,” Minako says from her commandeered spot next to Kadir. He didn’t invite her to sit with him, but he also didn’t say no, which is as good as an engraved invitation to Minako. “What is _your_ deal?” She gestures wildly to include all the guys. “You know, you all and Mamoru.”

“What do you mean?” Kadir asks. The more he speaks, the more Rei thinks he might actually be good for Minako. He shows little to no emotion and is fazed by nothing apparently.

“You guys all seem so cool and interesting,” Minako explains. “So how are you friends with _Mamoru_.” She sneers his name. Rei sighs, again.

Jun laughs. “I get the feeling you aren’t a fan of our Mamoru?”

“That would be an understatement,” Rei mutters. Minako glares at her.

“Well, I met Mamoru when we were both in high school,” Kadir explains.

Jun rolls his eyes. “They both went to this rich-douche prep school.”

Kadir cuts his eyes at Jun before continuing, “ _Anyway_ , the rest of us did our undergrad at the same university. We had a class together, formed a study group…”

“And we got along so well that we kept in touch after the semester ended and have been friends ever since,” Nate adds. The rest of the guys nod in agreement.

“Well that was an anti-climatic tale,” Minako sighs.

“Not everything is a grand, dramatic story, _Minako_ ,” Rei snaps.

“Well, I’m intrigued to hear if the whole Usagi-and-Mamoru thing is also anti-climatic or grand and dramatic,” Zeke says, still dusting sand off of his swim trunks.

“We really shouldn’t talk about it,” Ami says quietly. “I mean, it’s not really our business.”

“She’s right,” Mako agrees. “If Mamoru wanted to tell you, he would have.”

“But we haven’t seen Mamoru in _months_ ,” Zeke points out. “We’ve barely gotten through how his semester has been, let alone, the story of this _girl_ he’s batshit crazy over.”

Rei frowns. _So even_ they _notice it._ She had tried not to notice while they were all hanging out today, preferring her version of events which was that Mamoru just wanted to get Usagi back in the sack, nothing more. But it was increasingly clear as they interacted throughout the day that whatever happened between them last semester was so much more than sex. Yeah, Usagi said she’s in love with him, but Usagi has also professed that chocolate cake is the world’s greatest invention, so excuse Rei for not immediately taking to heart everything she says.

The girls exchange looks, Mako and Ami still firmly on the side of _we-shouldn’t-tell_ while Minako looks like she is going to burst. Rei’s not sure where she stands. On the one hand, maybe if they tell the guys what happened, they’ll agree to keep Usagi and Mamoru away from each other. On the other hand...they may think this is all terribly romantic and do the opposite of help.

“Oh, fuck it,” Minako mutters. “I’m telling. I don’t give a shit.”

“ _Minako_ ,” Ami hisses. “That isn’t fair. Usagi isn’t even here to defend herself.”

“Well then she shouldn’t wander off with her stupid slug of an ex-fling or whatever she wants to call him.”

And then Minako launches into the entire story, which requires her to stand and use hand gestures apparently. The others chime in as necessary. Rei sits in stony silence, watching the guys as Minako relays the whole Affair, as she is coming to call it.

“Man, I can’t believe Mamoru would do something so...reckless,” Jun says when Minako’s finally finished.

Kadir nods. “It’s very unlike him.”

“It’s _awesome_ ,” Zeke says. “Our little baby is grown up, you guys.” The others roll their eyes.

“Usagi must mean a lot to him,” Nate says quietly.

“How do you figure?” Minako snaps.

“Nate’s right,” Kadir says. “Usagi must be special to him to risk his academic career like that.”

“Oh puh- _leeze_ ,” Minako drawls. “It’s not _that_ dramatic. I mean it’s not like she’s underage or something.”

Kadir levels her with a look and she shuts up. _He has to date her,_ Rei decides. _Anyone who can shut up Minako is my new best friend_. “I know Mamoru well and his schooling is the most important thing to him. Therefore, if he risked any part of that for some _girl_...well, she must be pretty important to him.”

Minako opens her mouth to respond, but then shuts it. Rei likes Kadir more and more.

“He’s different too,” Jun adds. “He’s...happier. In general.”

The guys nod in agreement and Minako pouts. Rei would probably be upset too if she weren’t secretly reveling in Minako being brought down a few pegs. As much as she disapproves of Usagi hooking back up with Mamoru, she also wants her friend to be happy.

The conversation gets steered toward academics then, thanks to Ami asking Kadir what he studied as an undergrad. Rei lets the conversations wash over her, not responding, but not tuning them out completely. She lies back on her blanket, counting the stars instead.

 

*

 

Mamoru and I fall into step in the sand, the wind blowing furiously around us now that the sun is starting to go down. I’m glad I brought my cover up, and unfortunately Mamoru’s put his shirt back on.

We walk in silence for a bit, and I get the feeling that Mamoru wants me to be the one to break it, considering the way we parted last night. I take a deep breath and decide to just take the plunge. “So it was nice hanging out with everyone today,” I say as nonchalantly as possible. The urge to reach out and take his hand is so strong. _Chill, Usagi, we’re not there yet._

Mamoru nods but doesn’t say anything, so I continue, “Your friends are pretty cool.” I laugh, “I mean, Mako sure thinks so.”

We exchange looks and both dissolve into a fit of giggles. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” Mamoru says when he’s caught his breath. “I mean you think _I’m_ reserved...you’ve barely met Nate.”

“Mako has that effect on people,” I say.

Now that the tension is a little bit alleviated, Mamoru seems to ease up a bit. “Look, about last night…”

“It’s cool,” I reply quickly. “I’m glad that you...apologized.” _That you do feel bad for totally flaking on me_. Though that was never really in question. I mean even when he was telling me to leave, I could see how much it hurt him. Which I suppose is why it’s so goddamn confusing to me.

Mamoru stops, toeing the sand awkwardly. “I meant it. My apology.” He huffs. “But I mean that doesn’t really _mean_ anything...um, what I really wanted to say was...uh….”

Fuck, he is so cute. Why is he so cute? “Mamoru, spit it out.”

“When I said I wanted to make it up to you,” Mamoru says in a rush, “I meant that I wanted to try again. To date. For real.”

“As opposed to fake dating?” He shoots me a _you know what I mean_ look. Of course I know what he means, but it’s fun to wind him up a little. He deserves it.

“We can take it slow,” he continues, his eyes sliding from the sand up to my face. “As slow as you want.”

Ugh, every fiber of being wants to just scream _yes!!_ and jump into his arms. It would be that easy. _Look, he’s sorry. Look how sorry he looks. Just say yes and jump all over that toned man bod like you know you want to._

Instead, I say, “And I meant what _I_ said, that I need time to deal, okay?” I sigh. “You know how easy it would be to just accept your apology and let things go back to the way they were?” He doesn’t respond, but I see the understanding in his eyes. He wants to just as much as I do. But someone has to be the voice of reason here, unlike last time. “But it won’t solve anything, Mamoru. I still don’t know why you freaked out on me--”

“It’s a long story,” Mamoru interrupts.

“A story that I’d like to hear,” I snap back. “If you want me to trust you again, you have to talk to me.” Well, for starters anyway.

Mamoru sighs, thinking a bit before saying anything. Finally, he says, “You’re right.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “I guess I just...worried that you wouldn’t want to talk to me...after, you know, _everything_.”

I reach for his hand and squeeze it gently. “Of course, I want to talk to you. I’ve _wanted_ to talk to you for months, but you seemed pretty firm on the ‘This is over, end of’ stance.”

“This shouldn’t be so hard. I’m sorry.” He laughs a little. “Again.”

That one line suddenly clicks with me that maybe Mamoru’s never had to do this before, or rather never been forced to do this before, actually talk out what’s going on in his head. It makes me take a little pity on him, though I’m definitely not backing down.

Because I’ve denied myself--and him--long enough, I close the gap between us and wrap my arms around his waist, burrowing my head against his chest. “It’s okay,” I mumble into his t-shirt. “We’ll be okay.”

He hugs me back tight and in that gesture, I _do_ feel like everything will be okay. We can totally work through this. And I want to. I really _really_ want to.

“Could we start with dinner?” Mamoru asks, his words muffled into my hair. “Just dinner?”

I nod. “That sounds like a good plan.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> huzzah, they've made up! (kind of... eh, they're on their way....). thanks everybody who's still sticking with this story! all your comments (here and on tumblr) and kudos mean the world to me. also thanks to my beta for her endless wisdom <3 
> 
> (side note: this is not going to end up a Senshi/Shitennou fic...Minako/Kunzite and Makoto/Nephrite are just gonna stay as little background couples to give you guys a break from the Usagi/Mamoru action xD. Just wanted to clear that up since I didn't tag any other couples...didn't want to clutter those ship tags with this fic since they're not really front-and-center :3)
> 
> next chapter, we'll see....the first. official. _date_. :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait everyone!! it's been a hectic few weeks at work where i do most of my writing (ha). anyway, please enjoy the ~first date~ (which is of course not going to go as we expect......)

*

 

“You’re going to do _what_?”

I fold my arms, facing down the girls back in our living room. Minako is the one who speaks first, of course, but the others just wait for me to further explain.

“I’m going to have dinner with Mamoru tomorrow night,” I state again, keeping my tone firm. As much as I do value advice from them, I’ve made up my mind now and I don’t feel like dealing with Minako and Rei’s protests and reminders of how big of a mistake they think I’m making.

To my eternal shock, Rei says, “Good.”

Minako whirls on her. “ _Good_? I thought we were running interference, _Rei_. This is the _opposite_ of interference. This is….” She looks at Mako and Ami, helplessly searching for a word.

“Convergence?” Ami supplies.

“Yes! That.”

Rei just shrugs. “I’ve thought about it and Ami was right before.” Ami’s eyes widen slightly in surprise. “When you said Usagi’s an adult and we should trust her. Plus, it’s just dinner, _right_?”

She directs this last bit at me, her eyes like razors. I stammer, “Of course, it is. A chance for us to talk finally.”

Minako sighs dramatically, flopping down into the armchair. “ _Ugh_ , whatever. Talk like boring grown-ups. _Lame_.”

We all roll our eyes.

I head upstairs to shower and change before dinner, running through me and Mamoru’s conversation on the beach again and again. Probably not the best thing, but I would be lying if I said there weren’t _any_ doubts left in my mind.

It hits me when I’m rinsing out my hair that _oh god_ , this is our first date. Our first _real_ date. Actually going out in public as a couple and doing...date stuff. What if it’s horrible? What if we don’t have anything to talk about (beyond the more pressing issues)? I know a little about Mamoru’s personal interests, and I’ve babbled to him plenty about mine, but what if he gets bored or I get bored and we just don’t...work? What if we are only compatible sexually and dating is just awkward and weird? _Why_ didn’t I think of this before now?

I have to stop ruminating on this, at least for now. We’re going to have dinner. We’re _going_ to talk about what happened even if I have to force it out of him. It’s going to be _fine_.

I hope.

 

*

 

I think I’ve changed my clothes at least six times in the past hour. Rei lounges on my bed, leafing through a magazine, idly watching as I go back and forth from the closet to my suitcase to the mirror again and again and _again_.

“Usagi, remind me again why this is such a big deal? It’s just...dinner.” she asks, bored.

“Because!” is my only response. I hold up a pink top to my black crop pants and make a face. Too girlish.

Mako leans in the doorway, eating an apple. “I mean, he’s already seen you naked, Usagi,” she points out with a smirk. “That’s like ninety percent of first date awkwardness, right?”

“That’s not the _point_ , Mako,” I say, trying not to let the whine edge into my voice. “This has to be perfect.” I hold up a red dress I snagged from Rei and frown. Too sexy.

Rei sighs, sitting up and glaring at my back. “Usagi, you’re being ridiculous. You slept with this guy for _how long_ and _now_ you’re stressing about making a good impression?”

Well when she puts it like _that_. “But this is our first _real_ date, Rei!” I say with a whine.

Rei gives me a “So?” look and I continue, “I really like him, okay?” I thought I had made that abundantly clear, but apparently not since they still don’t _get_ it. “And if we’re going to date for real now...I just really want this to be perfect.” And not awkward. Or weird. Or any adjective that can be used in a negative connotation.

Rei and Mako are still giving me strange looks, but Rei’s face softens for a second. She marches over to the closet and hands me a dress. “Here. It’s girly but not immature,” she says, and then heads out of the room.

Mako chuckles and follows her out, leaving me alone to change.

I smile to myself. Apparently Rei is coming around quicker than I thought.

 

*

 

Minako is flipping through the TV channels, never stopping long enough to actually judge what’s on, and Rei can feel her nerves tightening with each press of the channel button.

“Will you just pick something?” she hisses and Minako sticks her tongue out in response.

Before Rei can retort, the doorbell rings. Minako practically vaults over the couch to get to the door first. “I got it!” she yells.

Mamoru stands in the doorway awkwardly. Rei doesn’t have to see her to know what Minako’s glare looks like. “Mamoru,” she says coolly, opening the door wide enough that he can step through.

Mamoru sits on the couch opposite Rei while Minako takes the armchair. Rei notes that he’s dressed nicely enough, a blue striped button down and jeans. And he combed his hair at least.

“So, _Mamoru_ ,” Minako begins, sneering his name in her usual way. “What are your intentions for our Usagi?”

“Oh my god, Minako,” Rei mutters.

Mamoru’s chuckle dies in his throat at the murderous look on Minako’s face. “Um...to take her out on a date?” he says.

“That’s all?” Minako snaps. “One lousy date? Seriously?”

“Well, I’d like there to be more,” he shoots back.

“Oh!” Minako points her finger at him, scowling. “You _are_ only interested in getting back into Usagi’s pants! I knew it!”

“That’s not what I mean!” Mamoru splutters. “I meant I hope we go on more _dates_.”

“That’s not what I heard!”

“Um, guys?”

Three heads turn to the staircase where Usagi’s waiting, a concerned look on her face at all the yelling. Mamoru stands up quickly, a smile breaking out onto his face as Usagi comes into view. _Good, she took my suggestion_ , Rei thinks. Usagi’s only worn the dress a few times, but Rei always thought it made her look a little older than some of the things she owns. A white sundress, dotted with red roses. Thin straps tie into little bows on her shoulders. Classic and feminine.

“You look great,” Mamoru says and Rei can hear the sincerity in his voice. _Dammit_.

“Thanks,” Usagi blushes. “So do you.” She smooths the front of his shirt and grins. “This is new? I like it.” Now it’s Mamoru’s turn to blush.

Rei rolls her eyes inwardly. Everyone talks about Minako’s flirting game since it’s become pretty legendary, but they have never seen Usagi when she’s on point like tonight.

“Okay, well we’ll see you guys later,” Usagi says, pulling Mamoru toward the door.

Minako stands beside Rei, watching them disappear and scowls. “Why can’t he be an _actual_ asshole so I have a real reason to hate him?” she says.

“You need a _real_ reason?” Rei asks, teasing.

“Shut up.”

“He does really like her though,” Rei relents with a sigh. “I mean, did you see his face when she came downstairs?”

Minako nods, folding her arms and pouting. “It was fucking adorable.” She growls. “Ugh, disgusting.”

Rei just laughs at her. Secretly, she’s glad that Mamoru passed this little test. As much as she wants to protect her best friend, seeing her happy with someone she really cares about is also important to Rei. She just hopes it doesn’t go belly up before the end of the week.

 

*

 

There’s a pretty nice seafood restaurant right on the waterfront that Mamoru has picked for our... _dinner_. I’m trying not to necessarily refer to it as a date so if it goes badly, I won’t be too _extremely_ disappointed.

Once we’re seated and given our menus however, I balk at the pricing for everything. “Mamoru, this place is _really_ expensive,” I whisper.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mamoru says. “I’ve got it.”

Um. I don’t doubt that Mamoru can afford a fancy dinner (I’ve seen his car, okay), but do I really want him to buy _my_ fancy dinner in an effort to sweet talk me into being with him? _See, look how amazing being my girlfriend will be! Fancy dinners all the time!_

Okay, that’s kind of ridiculous. Obviously, Mamoru’s trying to make a good impression for this first date (ugh, okay fine) and considering how long my wardrobe selection took, I don’t blame him. Also, these entrees sound amazing.

Our waiter comes over and Mamoru orders a glass of wine. He looks at me expectantly. Oh, um…crap. As much as I would love a glass of wine or something to take the edge off my nerves, I’m also a notorious lightweight. Mostly because I just don’t drink _that_ often and not very much. I can only imagine where the night will go if there’s alcohol involved.

“I’ll just have water,” I say to the waiter.

After he leaves, Mamoru says, “Seriously, don’t worry about the prices. If you want wine or something, it’s fine.”

I twist my napkin in my lap, trying to think up an excuse so I don’t have to admit the real reason I’m avoiding anything alcoholic. Finally, I decide to go with, “I just don’t feel like it tonight.” Besides we have too many important things to discuss, something else I’ll probably forget about if I’m under the influence...er, well, tipsy.

“Don’t worry about it,” I add when Mamoru still looks confused and a little concerned.

The waiter returns with Mamoru’s wine and I notice that he doesn’t touch it immediately. Ugh, now I feel bad. Even though we have this big thing hanging over us to hash out, tonight _is_ supposed to be fun. The first date and all that.

I decide to quickly change the subject before any more awkwardness can settle over us. So far, this isn’t shaping up how I pictured, but it isn’t completely unsalvageable. I ask instead about his friends, how they met, etc. Mamoru might recognize the tactic, but he goes along with it, telling me about meeting Kadir at the private school they both went to. Pretty soon we’re both laughing as Mamoru recalls when Kadir tried to do his own laundry for the first time.

“He honestly had never touched a washing machine before,” Mamoru says, his eyes watering from laughter. “All of his shirts turned pink. God, he was so mad.”

I tell him about a similar incident when I was a kid and threw one of my plush rabbits in the wash with the good linens. “I think I was...four? Five?” I giggle. “The rabbit was hot pink and well...you can figure out how the story ends.”

I watch Mamoru chuckle and think to myself, _see, this is great!_ We’re sharing stories, making each other laugh, the earlier wine thing completely forgotten.

Of course, we still have to talk about... _it_. The break up. Or whatever.

I think now might be a good time to bring it up since I’ve almost completely cleared my plate and Mamoru’s on his second glass of wine. But instead, a small band strikes up in the corner of the restaurant and they’ve cleared off what’s meant to be a dance floor.

Mamoru smiles and holds out his hand to me. “Well?” he asks.

“Oh, no no no,” I say, shaking my head with a nervous laugh. “I don’t dance. I’m terrible at it. No coordination. Crushed toes. All of that.” I barely danced at my high school prom and it was mostly that standing still and swaying back and forth thing. I’ll dance like an idiot with the girls, but I’ve never done any kind of _proper_ dancing.

But Mamoru is goodnaturedly persistent. “Oh come on,” he says. “I’ll lead. You’ll be fine.”

“Because you’re such a ballroom expert?” I grumble, but I take his hand anyway and follow him.

It turns out that Mamoru is an _excellent_ dancer, leading me effortlessly through...a foxtrot, I think he said? I don’t know anything about ballroom dancing, but it is basically just following Mamoru’s lead, moving where he guides me. By the time the song is over, I’m breathless and laughing, pressed against his warm side.

“So I guess you learned to dance at your fancy private school?” I ask, as the next song--a slower one, thank god--starts up.

“We were supposed to learn to be _gentlemen_ ,” Mamoru makes a face. “But I actually liked dancing. It was pretty fun.”

“Well, you’re good at it,” I remark, settling into the warm circle of his arms. _Hmm, I missed this_. “You make me look not terrible.”

He laughs and pulls me closer, his arms settling around my back.

Oh it would be so easy to just stay like this, like nothing is wrong, nothing needs to be discussed. I want to _so_ badly. To be nestled safely against his warm chest, listening to his heart beating, being gently swayed back and forth in time with the soft music.

The song ends, and I’m brought back to reality. The night has only just begun.

 

*

 

Mamoru pays the bill and we decide to walk along the boardwalk for a little while before going home. Even though it’s late and the sun has already gone down, the boardwalk is still lit up brightly, full of spring break goers, laughing and carrying on.

There’s a string of carnival games set up and Mamoru and I try to best each other at popping balloons. Unfortunately, we’re pretty evenly matched and the guy running the booth just laughs and hands us both plush bears as prizes.

After that, we head towards the beach since the night is unseasonably warm even with the wind whipping around us. I slide my hand into his, swinging our arms back and forth, grinning at him when he starts laughing.

We sit cross-legged, facing each other, just far enough from the surf to avoid getting wet but still enjoy the salty breeze, and thumb wrestle. While we do, I decide now is the time to talk. If we don’t, I may never work up the nerve again.

“Tell me a secret,” I say, frowning when he pins my thumb under his. Curse his long fingers.

“I still have the blanket I slept with when I was a kid,” Mamoru says. “When I moved, I panicked because I thought I’d left it behind.”

That’s not quite what I meant, but before I can correct him, he says, “Your turn.”

Okay, we can make this a game, I guess. “I wet the bed when I was fifteen.” Mamoru raises an eyebrow. “It was just the one time and I was _so_ embarrassed. Hasn’t happened since though.” When Mamoru doesn’t say anything, I nudge him with my knee. “Your turn."

He chuckles. “Well, what do you want to know?”

“Why did you break up with me?”

Mamoru’s hand stills in mine. I keep my eyes fixed on him, but he refuses to look at me, glancing out over the dark ocean. “Do we have to talk about this?” he mumbles. “The night’s going so well, and….”

“You _owe_ me an explanation, Mamoru Chiba,” I snap. “You _promised_.”

“I didn’t really,” he says. He sighs then and adds, “But I do...owe you an explanation.”

“If you think I’m just going to get pissed and leave…,” Well, he might be right, but I’m sure saying that won’t make him feel better. “I want to hear you out. Please?”

“Okay.” He laces our fingers together, holding on tightly, like he thinks if he doesn’t, then I really will run away.

He takes a deep breath. “Okay, um...where to even start?” I could give him a few ideas, but I would like to see where he decides to begin with his explanation. What does he think is the most pressing issue here?

“I meant when I said that I was feeling guilty...because I had a crush on you even though you were my student.” Hm, I guess I understand that. It’s kind of like that seizing moment of panic I had when I woke up after we slept together the first time. That _oh shit, but he’s my TA_ panic.

“But that wasn’t the only reason…,” he adds.

“I kind of figured.” At least I _hoped_ there was a better reason.

“I just….” He pauses and when he finally speaks again, it all comes out in a rush. “I realized that I’ve never felt this way about _anyone_ before, never really _been_ with anyone, and I guess I just got freaked out and instead of talking to you about it, I just...wanted to call it quits.” He pulls his hands away, running them through his hair in a nervous gesture. “I don’t know if I can...share my life with you the way I’m supposed to. I don’t know if I can because I’ve never done it before.”

I don’t know if I’ve _ever_ heard Mamoru string this many words together at one time. Seriously, he’s baring his soul to me more than he ever did when we were just sleeping together. “I guess I understand that,” I begin. Then I shake my head and amend, “No, I don’t. I don’t get it because for my whole life I’ve always been surrounded by people that I love. And I know that makes me _super_ lucky, but it also means that my absolute worst fear in the world is being alone.”

“See?” Mamoru makes a frustrated noise. “I’m not good for you, Usagi. I’ve been alone my whole life. I’m used to it.”

“But that doesn’t mean you _like_ it,” I point out. “Are you telling me you never get lonely?” I would find that difficult to believe if he says yes.

“Well, _no_ , but…”

“Look, we can work this out,” I say, putting my hands on his again. “We can. We can figure this out, together.” I pause, chewing my lip. “I mean, if you want to.”

Mamoru looks up and I feel my heart warm at the hope I can see in his eyes. “I do. I really do.” He rubs his thumbs over the backs of my hands gently. “Hanging out with you today...really just _seeing_ you again...made me realize how much I’ve missed you.”

“Me too.” I lean forward, my eyes closing when I see him leaning toward me as well. I wait, anticipating the brush of his lips against mine, but….

The surf swells more than we bargained for, rushing towards us in a surge of very cold salt water. I shriek, leaping up as the bottom half of my dress is soaked. Mamoru yelps, jumping back and nearly falling over into the sand.

When the shock passes, we both start to laugh, at least until I notice Mamoru staring at my midsection. I look down and _fuck,_ my dress, now soaked, is completely see through. I hear Mamoru attempting to stifle a laugh and failing epically. “I see you didn’t bring out the fancy underwear for me?” he chuckles.

“It’s not funny, Mamoru!” I complain. The wind is suddenly much colder through my wet dress and I shiver. “How am I supposed to walk back to the house like this?”

“Here.” He hands me his jacket which I tie around my waist. When I apparently still look pissed, Mamoru laughs again, holding out his hand to me. “Come on, let’s get back and changed.”

The promise of leeching his warmth is enough to smooth over my earlier annoyance. I take his hand, letting him tuck me against his side, his arm across my shoulders, as we walk back to our respective houses.

 

*

 

Even though our houses are literally right next to each other, Mamoru wants to walk me to the front door. Though, he probably just wants to get his jacket back once I’m safely in the house.

Unfortunately, it seems the girls took off not too long after I left since the lights are all off and the door is locked. _Great_. I know there’s a spare key on the back deck, so I hurry around the house (easier said than done in a wet dress) with Mamoru close behind me.

“I know it’s here somewhere,” I mutter, checking under the deck chair cushions and even in the potted plant hanging next to the screen door. _But_...no key.

“You can always hang out at my place until they get back?” Mamoru suggests.

“And have to listen to your friends make fun of me for wearing a white dress on the beach?” I snap. “No thanks.”

“They aren’t there either,” he shrugs. “There’s a bar in town they like to hang out at. They probably won’t be back for a couple of hours.”

Hmm...I suppose it would make sense. The girls should be back any minute, and I can easily keep an eye out from next door.

But then my mind starts running through other scenarios of what being alone with Mamoru in a large beach house would be like. And most of them are, well, not safe for work.

But I’m cold and wet and just want to get out of this freaking wind. “Okay, fine,” I hear myself say.

Mamoru unlocks the door (see, they gave _him_ a key!) and ushers me inside. It’s weird to see the house completely empty, but it’s just as posh as before. I fold my arms around myself, hoping I don’t accidentally bump into anything or, god forbid, break anything.

Mamoru starts up the stairs, glancing over his shoulder to see if I’m following him. I must look puzzled because he says, “I thought you could borrow a shirt or something?”

Because that won’t raise any questions with my friends when I finally get back, me wearing Mamoru’s clothes, sneaking over from his house. However, my dress is sticking to my legs which is extremely uncomfortable.

I follow Mamoru to his room, just as neat and organized as I imagined. Mine is already a wreck even though we’ve only been here for a few days. He tosses me a t-shirt and sweatpants from one of the drawers, and then awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. “Um, I guess I’ll let you get changed,” he says, starting for the door.

“What?” I laugh. “It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.” I eye his jeans, also soaking wet. “You might want to change too…?”

Mamoru glances down and then chuckles nervously. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

I turn around, untying his jacket from around my waist and tossing it on the floor. Behind me, I can hear the rustle of fabric as Mamoru gets undressed as well, my heart speeding up considerably. It’s not as if I’ve never been naked in a room with him, but we weren’t in this weird place of _maybe back together_ last time. Also yes, it’s been awhile since I was naked in a room with him and it’s stirring up a lot of... _feelings_.

I reach around me for the zipper of my dress, and an idea forms itself in my head. _No, Usagi, we’re taking this slow, remember?_ I glance over my shoulder and get an eyeful of Mamoru’s bare back, his muscles bunching between his shoulder blades as he lifts a clean shirt over his own head. _Oh fuck it_. The night is going so _well_ and it’s been long enough...right?

“Um, Mamoru?” He turns around, his brow furrowed as he notices me struggling with the zipper of my dress. Well, _appearing_ to struggle anyway. “Can you help? I think it’s stuck.”

“Sure.” It does not escape my notice the tightness to his voice as he quickly crosses the room to stand right behind me. God, he’s just _radiating_ heat right now, or maybe it’s just because it feels like every nerve ending in my body is on high alert. His hand grasps the zipper and pulls down, his other hand on my shoulder.

It seems to take an inordinately long time, but when he’s done, he just says, “There,” with a slight hitch to his voice. But he doesn’t take his hand from my shoulder, his thumb just rubbing small circles against my skin.

I turn slightly to look at him, his eyes nearly black in the dim lighting of his room. “Thanks,” I murmur. He still doesn’t pull away, and I know I’m going to have to help him along a little. There’s no way he’s going to jump that extra mile to get this going without knowing I’m fully on board. I start to pull the straps to my dress down, suddenly remembering as the air of the room hits my skin that I didn’t wear a bra with this dress. I lean back until my head hits his shoulder, sighing softly.

“ _Usagi_ ,” Mamoru moans. His head drops to my shoulder, his lips pressing against my skin. I tilt my head to the side, giving him more access, my lips parting slightly to let my own moan escape.

And it all just goes downhill from there.

His kisses get more frantic, and he adds little bites in the mix, soothing the spots with his tongue. He pulls my dress the rest of the way down from my torso so it hangs awkwardly around my waist, my chest exposed to the rather cool air of the room. I’m not exposed for long though as his hands span my waist, pulling me closer to him, cupping my breasts and teasing my nipples to hardness.

I try and turn my head to his for a kiss--at _last_. His lips cover mine, his tongue sweeping against my mouth and inside. I reach to tangle my fingers in his hair, angling his face to kiss him as deeply as possible.

His hands trail from my breasts down my belly and to my underwear. I think maybe he’ll pull this stupid dress all the way off, but instead he slides his hand under the waistband of my panties, his fingers pressing against my clit. I tear my face away from his to gasp and curse as he starts rubbing me expertly, my hips rocking against his hand.

“Ah, Mamoru, oh _god_ ,” I groan. He growls in response, his mouth back against my neck, sucking a bruise into my skin. I can feel his breaths picking up, his chest still pressed against my back. As much as I would rather die than move his hands from me right now, I would also like to reciprocate his touches and kisses, something quite difficult when I’m plastered back to his front.

I grab his wrist and he stills, withdrawing his hand from my panties. I step away from him and when I turn around to face him, I can see the confused look on his face. _Oh don’t worry, dear, we aren’t done yet_. I just smile, pulling my dress the rest of the way off and tossing it into a heap behind me, and _oh_ I will never get tired of the way he looks at me, the total awe on his face. I mean, someday it’ll wear off (if we even make it to _someday_ ) but for now I’ll enjoy it.

He looks at me through his fringe and I can read the question in his eyes. _Are you sure?_ Am I? I don’t know. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow or next month, but I know that _right now_ , I want him more than I have ever wanted anything in my life. “Yes,” I whisper, closing the distance between us.

“Usagi….” My name is a sigh on his lips and I lean up to kiss it from his mouth, winding my arms around his neck, pressing my chest to his. He groans against my lips, hands on my hips to steady me. I slide my hands under the hem of his shirt, running along his stomach and back before pulling it up and off to land in the growing pile of our clothing.

Before I can reach for the waistband of his jeans, he drops to his knees in front of me, pulling my panties down. I don’t have time to comment or form any kind of thought before his tongue is pressing against my folds, drawing out cries from my lips. I grab his hair for some kind of grounding, knowing that if he keeps going, I’ll probably just fall over from how _amazing_ it is.

He seems to figure this out since he pauses his ministrations to kiss his way back up my body, wrapping his arms around my waist and directing me towards the bed. I laugh when he nuzzles my cheek and deposits me on the covers. He strips off his jeans and boxers as quickly as he can (quite difficult since they’re still pretty soaked from our earlier surprise with the ocean), and crawls onto the bed toward me.

“Mamoru.” I lie back, pulling him over me and sighing as he presses against me, skin to skin. As wonderful as the actual act of sex feels with him, the sensations, the building to orgasm, I love _this_ just as much, the intimacy of being open and vulnerable with someone that you... _love_.

I push Mamoru onto his back and crawl over him, finally getting a chance to give as good as I get. I kiss my way from his forehead down to his lips, continuing my trail along his neck and shoulders, down his chest, pausing to count his rapid heartbeat, and down to his stomach. I watch rapturously as his head tips back when I grasp him, stroking slowly, my name escaping his lips in a low groan.

“Usagi, _please_.” He reaches for the bedside table and _of course_ , Kadir’s amazing posh mansion comes with a supply of condoms in each bedroom. Unless Mamoru was planning to get laid this vacation? I don’t think too much of it, watching as he rolls the condom on and then reaches for me.

His hands settle on my hips as I direct the head of his cock to my entrance, sinking down onto him with a soft cry. _God_ , I missed this. I steady myself with a hand on his chest as I set the rhythm, taking him in and out of me with each push of my hips. Our eyes never break contact, even as I feel my orgasm building low in my belly.

As good as it is, I still need the extra push along, even when he starts to pick up the pace, his hips pushing frantically against mine. I slide my hand down to my clit, rubbing myself as he drives up into me faster and faster, a stream of curses falling from my lips as I can feel myself getting closer and closer and…

When I come, I don’t actually scream, but my whole body seizes like I do, my mouth falling open with a strangled cry. Mamoru slows, guiding me through my orgasm, but then he surges up, wrapping his arms around me to flip us so that I’m pinned underneath him. His pace is frantic and it’s all I can do to just hold on, my hands clawing at his back and hair, as he finally comes, his cock swelling and emptying inside me.

We stay like that for a moment, catching our breath and slowing our heartbeats. I stroke his hair while he just mouths absently at my shoulder and chest, murmuring my name between kisses.

“So much for taking it slow, huh?” he chuckles, his lips near my collarbone.

I tense at his words, the weight of what we’ve just done crashing down around me. We _are_ supposed to be taking this slow, and didn’t I say that I would fall back into bed with him if he just batted his eyelashes at me and said he was sorry? Isn’t that what just happened?

I start to push him off of me, struggling to slide from underneath him to gather my clothes. The girls’ll be back by now and I can sneak in, pretending that we just lost track of time out at the boardwalk. But Mamoru reaches for me, a concerned look on his face. “Usagi?”

“I have to go,” I mutter, shivering when the cool air of the room hits my overheated skin. “I shouldn’t... _we_ shouldn’t’ve….” My words trail off into a frustrated sigh.

“Usagi, please, I’m sorry.” Mamoru holds on to my arm but lets go when I continue to pull away. “I’m sorry, but please don’t go. Not yet.”

I look at him then, still tangled in the sheets, his hair mussed and his cheeks flushed. And he looks so upset and I can see the thoughts running through his head, the guilt settling on him. I can’t leave now, and plus, I don’t really want to.

I crawl back into the bed and settle in his arms. “I’m sorry,” I murmur, pressing my face against his shoulder. “I just...I don’t want what happened last time to happen...again.”

“It won’t,” he promises, wrapping his arms tight around me and kissing my forehead. “I promise it won’t.”

I’m not sure I’m at a place where I fully believe him yet. But I yawn, snuggling deeper into his arms, and soon I’m sound asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh you two, you can't keep your hands off each other, can you??? ;)
> 
> thanks again to my amazing beta for all her suggestions and support (the occasional "don't you have a chapter for me, missy???" texts). also to everybody still sticking with this silly little AU, you all are amazing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg i am SO SORRY for such a long time between updates, ugh. ANYWAY, here's the morning after...and well, more stuff obvs xD
> 
> as i said, this fic is going to be shorter than the first, so we're PROBABLY looking at one more chapter, if not 2 more. enjoy!!

*

 

Since the girls are sans Usagi for a evening, they decide to hit up the local bar downtown for dinner and drinks. Hey, if Usagi gets to have a night out with her...whatever Mamoru is, then Rei thinks they should all have fun too even if they don’t have doting significant others.

Minako orders a pitcher of sangria, practically downing half of it herself until Rei pushes it to the other end of the table and away from Minako's grasp. When she’s nice and buzzed, Minako leans into Rei’s arm and says rather loudly, “Okay, we’ve got to talk about this.”

“About what?” Ami asks, sipping her drink.

Minako rolls her eyes. “You _know_. The Mamoru-shaped elephant in the room.”

Mako makes a face while she tries to unravel Minako’s meaning. “Are you calling Mamoru an elephant?”

“Yes. Sort of.” Minako shakes her head. “Never mind that part!” She slams her hand on the table for emphasis. “We, as a group, have to decide now if we’re going to run interference on those two, or...play _matchmakers_.”

“Um, we don’t really have to do any matchmaking,” Rei points out. “Since they _are_ on a date right now.”

“Yeah, but do you _honestly_ think everything’s going to be okay after one lousy date?”

“What makes you think it’ll be lousy?” Mako asks with a teasing grin.

“Um, because she’s with _Mamoru_ ,” Minako says. “Anyway, so who’s in? Matchmaking or continued interference?”

“Haven’t we already discussed this?” Rei asks. “We’re staying out of it.”

“I think they’re really sweet together,” Mako says, as if Rei hasn’t spoken. “So...I guess I’m in for matchmaking.”

Minako doesn’t hesitate to jump in. “And I’m completely _against_ it because….” Rei braces herself for a ridiculous list of reasons why Minako hates Mamoru which will undoubtedly include such gems as _That one time he stared at me funny_. Instead, Minako says, “Well, I think I’ve made my feelings known.”

Their heads swivel to Ami, who just sighs. “Why do we have to meddle anyway?” she mutters.

Minako turns to Rei next, realizing she won’t get a straight answer out of Ami, ever the neutral diplomat. “Well?” Minako says, raising an eyebrow.

Rei frowns. “I _told_ you--”

“Yeah, but what do you really _think_?” Minako implores. Rei looks around and sees Mako and Ami staring at her with the same level of curiosity.

Rei pauses before speaking. Her first instinct is to just remind Minako she’s being childish about this whole thing. After all, this isn’t _high school_ anymore and Usagi doesn’t _need_ her friends’ approval of the person she dates. She made that abundantly clear even when she dated Seiya, deaf to the girls’ concerns that Seiya would just dump her at the first convenient moment.

On the other hand though, Rei keeps seeing in her head Usagi without a smile on her face for weeks, refusing free sweets from Mako, ignoring her favorite song on the radio. For someone as full of life and exuberance as Usagi Tsukino, seeing something like that was heartbreaking. And even though Rei sees Usagi with Mamoru and sees how happy she is _now_ , she can’t help but feel that niggle of resentment, knowing that _he_ caused her so much pain before.

Rei sighs, rubbing her temples, her own words from earlier in the evening coming back to her: it _would_ be so much easier if Mamoru was _just_ an asshole.

Finally, Rei says, “I _really_ think we should just step back and let Usagi handle this.” Even thinking it through again, she still thinks it’s the best course of action.

Minako’s mouth drops open in surprise, but Rei ignores her. Mako nods, adding, “And if Usagi needs us, we’ll be here, like always.”

There are murmurs of agreement around the table even as Minako rolls her eyes dramatically and groans for added effect. Rei just glares at her until Minako finally says, “Yes _of course_ , I’ll be there for her. God, I’m not _heartless_ ….”

The girls just laugh. It was never a question really. Rei knows Minako will always be there for Usagi, just like they all will. But it’s too much fun to wind her up.

 

*

 

For probably the first time in our entire shared history, I wake up before Mamoru. The man is a notoriously early riser, so much so that he can have gone for a run, showered and had breakfast before I even roll over in the mornings.

He’s sound asleep on his stomach, his face smushed into the pillow, and it’s an adorable sight really. Unfortunately, I don’t plan to stick around and bask in it.

I carefully extract myself from the blankets and gather my dress, surprisingly dry enough to wear though I suppose the thin fabric is to thank for that. I throw it on quickly, practically holding my breath to avoid making any unnecessary noise and wake Mamoru. Once, he sighs in his sleep and I freeze, thinking I’ve been caught. Instead, he turns his head away from me, sleeping on like nothing could bother him in the world.

Almost at the door to his bedroom, I realize that leaving like this is kind of a dick move. But I just...can’t face him right now. Still, I creep over to his side of the bed and crouch down, brushing his hair away from his face. He makes a sleepy contented noise and my heart warms, the temptation to strip down and snuggle back under the covers with him almost overwhelming.

Instead, I press a soft kiss to his cheek and tiptoe out of the room.

The pink light of dawn comes streaming in through the giant windows and it’s then that I realize just how _early_ it is. I’m never up this early unless I’ve been forced on pain of death. The rest of Mamoru’s group are still sound asleep, or at least haven’t emerged from their own bedrooms. I manage to get out without drawing any attention to myself.

Unfortunately, I’m not so lucky sneaking in. _Of course_.

Rei is already awake and seated at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in front of her. I brace myself for the inevitable Rei-lecture, though honestly it’s the _last_ thing I need right now.

However, when I start toward the kitchen, Rei stands and heads to the stairs, calling over her shoulder, “Good night?”

I stare at her for a second. “What?”

She pauses, eyeing my neck and pointing to her own with a smirk. “Your hickey tells a fun story.”

My brain finally restarts at the realization that I’m not going to get a talking-to. “Wait...you _aren’t_ going to lecture me?”

Rei just shrugs, taking another sip from her mug. “Why? You’re an adult.” After a thought, she adds, “And it’s not like you hooked up with some random dude. It’s _Mamoru_.”

Dumbfounded, I take a seat at the table, still staring at her. She looks confused for a second before finally snapping, “ _What_?”

“It’s just that you’ve never given up an opportunity to fuss at me before,” I say. She gives me a flat look in response.

“Don’t push it.” She flips her hair in a gesture that is so very _Rei_. “I care about you, Usagi, we all do. But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna tell you what to do all the time.”

Huh. The one time I fully expected and even feel like I probably need Rei’s overprotective mothering, and she just steps back and lets me be. It’s a weird feeling….

“Okay, I _do_ have to ask,” Rei says, interrupting my thoughts and coming to take the seat opposite me. “Why the hell are you here so early? No post-coital cuddling for you two?”

I bite my lip, staring at the table intently instead of Rei’s face. “I kind of...snuck out before he woke up,” I mumble. Rei raises an eyebrow. “And I feel really dumb okay?”

Rei leans back in her chair, folding her arms. I wait to see if she’s going to say anything, but it becomes clear she wants me to continue. I drop my head on the table with a groan, wrapping my arms around my head. “I fucked up. I shouldn’t have slept with him, and I _knew_ I wouldn’t be able to help myself.”

“ _That’s_ why you feel dumb?” Rei asks. I peek at her from under my hair. “Usagi, I seriously think you are overthinking this. And that is a sentence I never thought I would ever say.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re working yourself up about nothing. And sneaking away instead of talking to the one person you _should_ be voicing your concerns to.” She reaches over to pat my arm. “I love you, but that’s pretty shitty.”

“Thanks,” I say flatly, then sigh. “But you’re right.” I don’t even want to imagine Mamoru’s face when he wakes up to an empty bed, all concerned and probably hurt.

I push myself away from the table, standing up. “I’m gonna shower and call Mamoru. I’m sure he’ll be awake soon.” I head toward the stairs, adding once I’m at the first step, “Thanks Rei. You always know how to make me feel better.”

Rei laughs. “It’s what I’m here for.”

 

*

 

I take a nap when I get upstairs, exhaustion overtaking me as soon as I shut the door to my room. When I wake after about an hour, I feel much better, refreshed and clear-headed, even though I do still feel guilty about bailing on Mamoru. 

I grab my phone and shoot him a quick text instead of calling him. He might have decided to sleep in this morning, who knows?

_Hey, sorry for running off this morning._

I set my phone on my pillow and start to undress to hop in the shower. I figure by the time I get out, he’ll have texted back. Mamoru’s not exactly prompt when it comes to his phone.

Instead, my phone starts buzzing, Mamoru’s picture appearing on the caller ID screen. Huh, that was quick. “Hey,” I say into the receiver.

“Hey.” Warmth floods down to my toes at the sound of his voice. I can _hear_ the relief in his tone. “What happened? Are you okay?”

I sit down on the edge of the bed, hugging my pillow to my chest. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He’s silent waiting for me to continue, to explain my sudden disappearance. “I’m sorry I kind of freaked out. Last night and this morning.”

“It’s okay,” Mamoru says. “I’m not mad. I was just worried about you.”

A smile breaks out over my face at that admission. “You were?”

Mamoru chuckles. “Of course I was.”

“I guess I was just...overthinking things.” To use Rei’s terminology. Though Mamoru doesn’t have to know that. “I had a lot of fun last night.”

“Me too,” he says, and I can picture his smile. “And I get it. I’m guilty of overthinking things too...obviously.”

“We’re quite a pair, aren’t we?” I laugh.

“Yes, we are.” He adds, “And we can...dial back the, uh, physical parts of...well you know.”

“Don’t hurt yourself, Mamoru,” I tease. “And it’s fine. We’ll just...see what happens.” I’m not making any more promises about not hopping into bed with him again. Though we could probably use the space for now. It isn’t that I don’t _trust_ Mamoru, but I’m not at the same level of trust as I was before...well, he broke up with me.

“That sounds good to me.” A pause, and then, “Hey, are you and the girls headed to the beach later? I think Nate wants a rematch in volleyball.”

“He’s dreaming if he thinks he can beat Minako.”

Mamoru laughs again. “Yeah, we’ll see.”

“I’ll see you later then?”

“Can’t wait.”

We hang up and I fall back onto the bed, still hugging my pillow, my face hurting from smiling. I don’t know why I was so worried, and upon second thought, I think all my worrying just made it worse anyway.

After allowing myself a few minutes to swoon, I finally drag myself out of bed and into the bathroom to shower and get ready for the beach.

 

*

 

We meet the guys out at the beach a little before lunch, Mako bringing a tray of sandwiches and fresh strawberry lemonade with us. I think Zeke may wet himself from excitement at lovingly crafted sandwiches as opposed to the bags of Doritos the guys brought for nourishment.

I set up my blanket next to Mamoru, blushing a little when he smiles widely at me, the completely open happiness and adoration apparent in his eyes. Minako just groans. “Get a _room_ for fuck’s sake.”

Of course, Minako plans to still be as antagonistic toward Mamoru as ever, but that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. Luckily, Mamoru seems to be taking it in stride. Every jab she sends his way, he dishes back with just as much power anda wry smile. Finally, Minako just fumes silently before deciding to try her luck with Kadir again, settling into the beach chair next to him with a non-too-subtle hair flip. Sigh.

I look around at my friends easily intermingling with Mamoru’s and I can’t help but smile. Zeke and Ami are locked deep in conversation about different museums they love. Zeke apparently majored in art history but can’t resist a good science museum, and Ami happily provides him recommendations. Mako and Nate are still lost in each other, the same as before. Even Kadir and Minako seem to be getting along, Kadir listening to Minako prattle on about her career aspirations. Jun attempts to sit next to Rei under the umbrella she brought, but one glare from her has him scurrying across the beach to join Zeke and Ami’s conversation instead.

It’s heartening to see our lives blending with each other’s so easily. All of my worries from the night before seem so silly now watching everyone laugh and talk like they’ve known each other their whole lives. I make eye contact with Mamoru (who’s joined in Zeke and Ami’s museum discussion, _nerd_ ) and he reaches over to slide his fingers through mine.

“Gross,” Zeke says with a teasing lilt to his voice. Ami hides a giggle behind her hand.

“Oh I’m sorry. Is this bothering you?” I shoot back, lifting mine and Mamoru’s joined hands and shaking them in Zeke’s general direction.

“Yes,” he laments with false seriousness. “I can’t stand the thought of Mamoru finally sharing his life with someone.” He pretends to swoon. “And a _girl_ of all things.”

Ami and I lose it then and even Mamoru can’t suppress his laughter. Zeke is just too much to take seriously.

I decide to work on my tan when the conversation turns to school. Apparently Ami is just full of barely contained questions about where Mamoru did his undergraduate degree, what schools he wished he could go to, areas of study he’s interested in, and on and _on_. Ami’s not super talkative...except when it comes to school and then she’s going a mile a minute.

“Okay, _rematch_ time,” Nate announces just when I’ve settled into that wonderful place between sleep and waking. I push myself up on my elbows as Nate literally _grabs_ Mamoru and shoves him toward the volleyball net. Minako is already there, tossing the volleyball idly between her hands, a dangerous smirk on her face.

I decide to watch since I can tan pretty much whenever, but I’ll probably never get to see this colossal beating again, made even better by the fact that it _is_ a rematch.

Kadir comes and sits next to me when Minako serves the ball _hard_ over to Mamoru and Nate’s side of the net. “Hey,” is all he says at first.

“Um, hi.” It’s not that I don’t like Kadir, but he’s very quiet and...well, kind of intimidating. It’s those icy blue eyes. Dude looks like a battle commander or something.

“So you and Mamoru are officially together, then?” he asks, his voice mildly curious.

“Yep,” I say, suddenly realizing that that is the first time that I’ve said out loud that Mamoru and I are together. Huh, that’s going to take some getting used to, which I am _happy_ to do. “We are a thing. Officially.”

“He seems really happy,” Kadir continues in that same tone, like he’s talking about a TV show he saw _one_ episode of as opposed to his best friend. “He said you guys had a good time last night.”

I start blushing, my mouth dropping open in horror. “He _didn’t_ tell you--”

Kadir laughs then, a loud, carefree laugh that I’m surprised to hear coming from him. “No, he didn’t mention _that_ ,” he says, still chuckling. “But good to know you two are getting close again.”

“Jerk,” I mutter and then wish I could take it back. I don’t know Kadir well enough to be needling him and calling him a jerk, do I? But Kadir just keeps on chuckling, not fazed in the slightest.

My attention returns to the volleyball match just as Minako spikes the ball... _right at Mamoru’s head_. He tries to duck, but he isn’t fast enough and the ball hits him squarely in the forehead, knocking him over backwards right onto his butt.

“Oh my _god!_ ” I rush over to where Mamoru landed. He’s rubbing his head but looks otherwise unharmed. Except for the giant red volleyball patterned mark on his forehead.

“Jesus, Minako,” I hear Rei scold her. “You _can_ win without trying to kill the man.”

“Sorry,” Minako says flippantly. “Guess I don’t know my own strength.”

“Are you okay?” I ask, rubbing his shoulder and helping him sit up.

“Fine,” Mamoru says, even laughing a little. “Going to have a killer headache in a little while though.” He turns towards Minako and calls, “Thanks for that.”

“You’re welcome!” Minako responds cheerfully, though she does look a little sheepish once Mamoru’s attention is away from her. Good. At least she’s aware that there are limits to her vendetta against my...boyfriend? Yep, still a little weird.

“Let’s get him inside and put some ice on that,” Kadir says, already lifting Mamoru to his feet. Mamoru protests, muttering that he isn’t a child, but Kadir completely ignores him, effortlessly supporting Mamoru with one arm around his back while Mamoru’s is slung over his shoulders.

I go ahead and follow them back up to the house, Rei’s beratement of Minako fading into the distance as I get further from our camp. At the house, Kadir has deposited Mamoru on the couch, heading to the kitchen to find an ice pack.

I crouch down next to the couch, rubbing Mamoru’s shoulder sympathetically. “You know, this isn’t really what I had in mind when I said I wanted to bond with your friends,” Mamoru says, his expression pained.

“I don’t actually remember you _saying_ you wanted to bond with my friends,” I point out.

“Okay, good. I take it back then.” Mamoru tenderly rubs the rapidly reddening spot on his forehead and winces.

Before I can remind him that it was _Minako_ that hit him in the head and _probably_ not on purpose, Kadir returns with some ice. “Keep that on your head for awhile. Should keep the swelling down.”

“Thanks, mom,” Mamoru says, rolling his eyes. He does take the ice pack, laying back onto the couch’s pillows.

“Do you need anything?” I ask. He should probably just rest, but I would feel bad abandoning him after my friend nearly knocked him unconscious.

“He might have a concussion,” Kadir answers before Mamoru can even open his mouth. “Best not to leave him alone.”

“I’m _fine_ ,” Mamoru says again, his tone that of a petulant teenager. “Go have fun and destroy Minako at volleyball for me.”

Kadir gives him a flat look which Mamoru returns with a glare. Finally, after a moment of silence and staring, Mamoru sighs. “Ugh, I hate when you’re right.”

“I’ll stay with him,” I volunteer. I had wanted to say that earlier, but I didn’t want to interrupt...whatever was going between the two of them.

Mamoru nods, and Kadir heads back to the screen door. Before he can exit, he calls over his shoulder, “Mamoru needs to _rest_.” He smirks. “So no... _physical_ activity, okay?”

He disappears through the door before the pillow Mamoru chucks at him can land. Mamoru makes an exasperated noise and flops back onto the couch, making a face when he remembers his injury.

I settle onto the other end of the couch, curling my feet up under me, and thinking about the exchange that I just witnessed. I want desperately to ask, _why does Kadir act like a mother hen with you and how are you so completely different with him and the other guys than you are with anyone else?_ but I can’t think of a way to phrase it that doesn’t sound, I don’t know, _weird_.

It’s like when I noticed how carefree Mamoru was the other day on the beach with everyone. Maybe being around people that he’s close to lets him let his guard down. I mean, I’ve seen him joke around, with me, with my friends, with others, but it isn’t the same kind of humor that I’ve seen with him and the guys. When he jokes, it’s dry and sarcastic, almost like a defense mechanism. He deflects so no one sees how he really feels.

But just now with Kadir _mothering_ him and him responding like a _child_ , I just...I’ve never seen calm, collected Mamoru Chiba act that way, so silly and immature. It’s kind of cute to be honest.

“So…,” I begin slowly. “Is Kadir older than you?”

Mamoru peeks at me from under the ice pack laying across his forehead. “Yeah, by a few years. Why?”

I shrug. “Just curious.” Oh, how to broach this subject? “He seems to really care about you.” Ooh, that’s good.

Mamoru chuckles. “Yeah, he’s looked out for me since we were in high school. I don’t know what exactly brought us together, but...yeah.” He adds, “He said I’m like the annoying younger brother he never had, but apparently wanted.”

I smile to myself as Mamoru covers his forehead again with the ice pack. I keep him talking just to make sure he doesn’t pass out, though I’m certain Minako didn’t hit him _that_ hard. We chat about school and the rest of the semester. I tell him about my conversation with Kadir right before the volleyball incident and Mamoru gives a heavy, fake sigh. “See? Always mothering me. Like I can’t take care of myself.” But I see the tiny smile on his face. He loves it.

Mamoru might _think_ he’s spent most of his life alone, but I’m rapidly beginning to see that he’s mistaken. He’s had people watching out for him and caring about him for awhile, and while he may not have the traditional family like I do, he does have a family.

After awhile, Mamoru convinces me that he’s not going to become brain dead and tells me I can head back out to the beach if I want to, he’s probably going to try and sleep off his headache. Part of me wants to stay and keep an eye on him, but he probably just wants to rest and have some quiet for a little while.

I kiss his cheek and head out the door, still smiling to myself as I leave.

 

*

 

The girls and I do dinner that night, just the five of us. Mako cooks and we eat on the back deck, soaking up the warm beach air. I check in with Mamoru periodically so I can be assured that he is in fact not dead and only has a minor volleyball pattern imprinted on his forehead.

I’m curled up in bed later, watching silly YouTube videos on my phone and trying not to laugh too loudly, when my phone rings, Mamoru’s picture appearing on the screen.

Huh. The time reads 12:24 AM, which I would think is way too late for a phone call, especially from an early riser like Mamoru Chiba. Oh god, what if something’s wrong?

I quickly hit accept. “Hello?” I ask tentatively.

“Hey,” is all he says.

“Um, hi?” He seems very nonchalant for someone who could be having an aneurysm or something. “Is everything okay?”

“Come out on your balcony.”

“Why?” I ask as I’m already swinging my legs off the bed and heading over to the glass door to the balcony. Even before I slide the door open, I can see a figure standing on the beach, their hand to their ear...like talking on a phone.

“What are you doing?” I say, leaning against the railing.

I can see Mamoru shrug. “I couldn’t sleep. And I saw your light was still on.” Huh, I’m suddenly reminded of a similar situation from a few months ago, except it was _me_ waiting outside, wanting to see _him_.

He waits a second before he says, “Do you want to go for a walk?”

I wasn’t planning on sleeping anytime soon anyway, so why not? I tell him I’ll be down in a minute and hang up, grabbing a sweatshirt on my way out of my bedroom. I manage to get to the back door and out onto the beach without waking any of the girls.

When I reach Mamoru, I link my arm through his, grinning up at him. “You never struck me as the spontaneous romantic night-caller type,” I say teasingly.

“What can I say?” Mamoru replies. “You’ve ruined me. I used to be a respectable man. I rang the doorbell and everything.”

I giggle, snuggling in closer to his side. It’s cold on the beach this late at night, the wind whipping all around us. But Mamoru is oh-so-warm and I happily leech his body heat, my arms around his waist, his arm across my shoulders.

“How’s your head?” I ask, trying to inspect it in the dark, but he waves my hand away.

“I’m fine, _seriously_. Don’t worry about it.”

We walk for awhile in silence, just enjoying each other’s company. As nice as it was to spend time with him alone this afternoon, he was, you know, _injured_. Even though we have theoretically all the time in the world to be together now, I still feel that urge to make up for the months we were apart.

We sit on the beach, _very_ far from the surf, thank you very much. I rest my back against Mamoru’s chest, his arms around my middle, holding me tight, his chin resting against the top of my head.

“It was really nice hanging out with everyone today,” I say, my voice soft. I don’t want to interrupt the peace of the moment, but I’m dying to know what’s on his mind. Why couldn’t he sleep? Why did he want to see me? He _did_ want to see me, right? Why else would he check to see if I was awake and then call me?

“Yeah,” he says. “Everyone was getting along and everything.” His voice is muffled by my hair when he continues, “The guys really like you.”

“Really?” My heart swells. It’s not like I would break up with Mamoru if his friends didn’t like me, but it certainly is heartening to know that these people who care about him and have known him much longer than I have approve of our relationship. Which reminds me…. “The girls are warming up to you too. Even Rei.”

“That surprised me,” Mamoru admits. “I thought for sure she would stay in Minako’s camp of hating me forever.”

“Minako doesn’t _hate_ you,” I say, although I have nothing to amend with to make him feel better. “And Rei’s more logical than Mina.”

“It’s...kind of weird, isn’t it?” Mamoru mumbles. “That our friends are all getting along...with us and with each other?”

I think about that statement for a second before responding. Why would he think it’s weird for our friend groups to like each other? Isn’t that a good thing? I decide to just ask him because clearly there’s a thought process going on there that I’m not seeing.

“It’s just….” Mamoru leans back away from me for a second, supporting his weight with his hands. I turn around to look at him, watching his eyes dart around the beach while he chooses his words carefully. Maybe someday he won’t feel the need to be so careful with me, but at least he’s opening up. I’ll take the little victories.

Finally, he says, “I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop...for something horrible to happen and….” He sighs. “That’s stupid, isn’t it? Expecting something to go wrong.”

I smile. “No, it isn’t.” I mean, I’m a little concerned that he’s focusing on the negative, or at least, focused on a possible negative. But wasn’t I totally stressed just a day ago? “I was worried too before we went to dinner. I was so sure something would happen, or we just would have a horrible date and decide to never see each other again.”

“But we had a good time,” Mamoru says, reaching for my hand. “...right?”

“I mean I wasn’t complaining,” I laugh. “Except for the getting-soaked-by-ocean-water part.”

“But the, ahem, _rest_ was pretty good.” Mamoru smirks at me and I can’t help but blush.

“That’s _always_ good with you,” I say softly. “That’s why I was worried.”

Now it’s _his_ turn to be confused and he raises an eyebrow. “I couldn’t help but think what if we’re only good together in bed and not anything else?” I explain. “But today made me realize how dumb it was to worry.” I smile. “I fell in love with you not because I liked having sex with you, but because I liked _you._ Everything that makes you...well, you.”

He presses his lips together and doesn’t look at me for a second, so I barrel on, trying to say everything I’ve wanted to say since December. Everything I thought I wouldn’t get to say. “You’re quiet and thoughtful, but you have a weird sense of humor, and you... _ground_ me, and I love that. I never thought in a million years that two people like us would be compatible, but we just... _are_.” I take a breath. “Does that...make sense?”

Mamoru’s eyes meet mine and he smiles. “Yeah, it does.”

“So will you stop worrying?” I ask. “I’m not leaving you, okay?” I push his face away so I can look in his eyes. God, they are so blue and distracting. “I want...this. All of this.”

“Me too,” he whispers. “Me too.” His lips find mine, a gentle slide, reassuring and familiar. I sigh, letting his tongue trace my lips and press into my mouth.

His hands slide under my tank top, tracing his fingertips over my skin and making me shiver. I wind my arms around his neck, tangling my hands in his hair, trying to hold him as close to me as I can.

We stay like that for awhile, just exploring with hands and mouths. I can feel the heat building low in my belly, but it isn’t the all-consuming fire that I’m used to. And it’s nice, the intimacy of being with someone who _knows_ you so well, so deeply.

I curl against Mamoru’s shoulder, listening intently to his heartbeat as it slows to match mine. His fingertips absently graze up and down my arm. I’m starting to get drowsy, but the last thing I want to do is leave his arms.

I must doze off for a second though because the next thing I know Mamoru is gently shaking me. “Come on, let’s get you home,” he says with a soft laugh.

He walks me to the back porch, standing on the bottom step as I start towards the door. “You know, you’re welcome to stay with me,” he says, a little tone of hope in his voice.

“Thanks, but I’ll take a raincheck on that,” I reply. “Probably for the best for now.”

Mamoru gives me a reassuring smile. “I get it.” He takes one step up, so that he’s standing just below me, our eyes almost level. I forget how tall he is, or rather how short I am. “Call me when you wake up tomorrow, okay?”

“What makes you think you’ll be awake?” I tease.

“Um, it’s _you_. I think yesterday was the only time you’ve ever been awake before me. _Ever_. Gave me a heart attack. I was sure something catastrophic had happened to get Usagi Tsukino up before noon.”

I throw my arms around his neck, muffling my giggles into his shoulder. I can feel him shaking slightly with his own laughter and it makes me smile even wider.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” I kiss his cheek and then bound up the deck stairs, waving at him from over my shoulder.

I watch as he treks back across the sand to his own deck, disappearing into the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i totally headcanon that kunzite was like super overprotective and a total mother hen to all the shitennou, but ESPECIALLY towards endymion, who already chafed under his restrictions as prince, but then was also getting babied constantly by his top general, poor dude xD anyway, i wanted to carry that over into this universe. i'll probably explore it further later (though maybe not in this fic)
> 
> special thanks to meh beta, feoplepeel, whose comments throughout this chapter nearly KILLED me (examples with no context: ""That and I ward off street harassment using only my face." "Fun Fact: Usagi keeps a sniper rifle next to her phone charger for those wacky 'my ex is next door' spring breaks!" "MINAKO GETS IT" and "hoe don't do it ive seen 2 many 90s films JUST DONT")
> 
> also many thanks to everyone still reading this story, love you all so much!! <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg here it is...the final chapter. This fic isn't as long as the first, but i had to do some MAJOR rewrites, so it FEELS longer to me haha. That being said, it's been SO MUCH FUN writing this AU and making so many amazing new friends through it. You guys are amazing and lovely and seriously, I want to meet and hug each and every one of you <3 
> 
> More notes and thank yous at the bottom, so for now, just enjoy the final chapter! Thanks everyone <3 <3 <3

*

 

“The lobster festival?” I give Mamoru a flat look. “Seriously?”

“The guys and I went last year and had a great time,” Mamoru says with a shrug. “Plus I’ve seen how you eat.”

I punch his arm. “Asshole.” I eye the colorful ad he shows me on his phone a little more closely though. “It... _is_ all you can eat, right?”

Mamoru just laughs.

Of course we all get dolled up and go, meeting the guys at the boardwalk just as the festival officially starts. There are people milling about everywhere with huge plates of food, and the smell is enough to make my mouth start watering.

We push a few tables together to make enough room, but it’s still a tight fit for all ten of us. I look around the table, expecting to see all of my friends on one end and all of Mamoru’s on the other, but we’re pretty evenly dispersed. Unsurprisingly, Minako has squeezed in next to Kadir while Mako and Nate basically share a chair. Zeke commandeers a seat next to me and Ami, and Jun takes the one next to him.

After we’ve had our fill, Mako stands up, holding up her glass towards the gathered group. “I just wanted to propose a toast to...um, everyone, I guess?” She laughs.

“New friends and old friends alike,” Kadir says with a small grin.

“Here, here!” I say. I grasp Mamoru’s hand under the table and smile at him out of the corner of my eye.

There is a chorus of “here, here!” and everyone drinks. The conversations start back up again, and I sit back, settling into the crook of Mamoru’s arm, sipping at my drink. I notice Minako and Kadir getting pretty cozy on their end of the table and am not surprised in the slightest when Minako gets up, pulling Kadir with her, and they disappear.

Zeke and I exchange looks and start laughing. “She wore him down, I see,” I lean over to whisper to him.

Zeke shakes his head. “No way. You can’t wear Kadir down. He was always interested in her.” Zeke chuckles. “Just had a few...reservations.”

“I can understand that,” I reply with a laugh. “Minako’s...well, she’s something else.”

Someone starts up some music which fills the boardwalk with even more noise, making idle chit-chat nearly impossible. Which is fine, to be honest. I’m enjoying just being around everyone, listening to the jazzy music and eating some fucking _delicious_ lobster.

It’s only a little while when Minako and Kadir come back, both of them looking slightly mussed and _very_ pleased with themselves. Minako spies a karaoke machine set up by the stage and literally drags Rei to it, promising everyone that they can’t miss her rendition of her favorite eighties power ballad with Rei’s backing vocals, of course.

“So this will be...interesting,” Mamoru murmurs into my ear. I laugh.

“She’s actually a good singer...though she’s definitely a better _performer_. You should hear her when Taylor Swift comes on the radio.”

Mamoru shudders. “I’ll skip that, thanks.”

While Minako belts out her song, Rei joining in with more and more enthusiasm, I can feel the alcohol warming my limbs, the laughter escaping from my lips even more easily than usual. I watch my friends with a silly, wide grin, giggling from sheer happiness.

“Oh my _god_ , Usagi! You have to duet with me,” Minako shrieks, flipping through the karaoke catalogue. “ _Now_!”

I pull myself away from the heat of Mamoru’s side and clumsily make my way to the stage, allowing myself to be pulled forcibly on stage by Minako and Rei. I can hear Mako whistling behind me and Ami’s clapping and high-pitched squeals.

I’m just drunk enough to still be able to follow the words on the karaoke machine but not care that I’m singing rather poorly in front of a large group of strangers. I catch Mamoru’s eye though and wink, tossing my hair over my shoulder. He laughs.

When the song ends, I stumble down from the stage and Mamoru catches me, still chuckling at my silly performance.

I wouldn’t say I’m shy about public displays of affection, especially when I’m with friends, but I definitely keep it toned down. Holding hands, a peck on the cheek or the lips on occasion. Nothing beyond that.

But alcohol has significantly decreased my inhibitions, so when Mamoru’s arms catch me around the waist, I don’t hesitate to throw my arms around his neck and press my lips to his with incredible fervor.

He takes a breath in surprise and I slide my tongue inside his mouth for a second before pulling away just as fast. To hell with my earlier wishes to take things slow (again). He smells amazing, and he’s just so fucking _cute_ that I can’t and don’t want to keep my hands off him.

I giggle at his shocked expression and lean forward, pressing my body against his, my lips at the shell of his ear. “Do you want to get out of here?” I whisper, my voice breathless from the kiss.

Mamoru’s grip tightens on my waist and he nods. He grabs my hand and leads me away from our group. Mako catches my eye as we make our exit, and I wave cheerfully, hoping my silly grin and Mamoru’s purposeful stride conveys the reason for our disappearance.

 

*

 

Honestly, at this point, I’d be down to a quickie in the local bar bathroom, but even when I’m drunk, my mind questions the sanitation of that idea. I’m seriously not interested in returning from my spring break beach trip with some kind of bacterial infection.

So instead, Mamoru and I make the rather long walk back to his place, sobering up significantly along the way. So much so that I’m beginning to regret our hasty exit and my drunken seduction...if you could call it that.

We don’t talk much on the way, just walk together hand in hand. I have to practically jog to keep up with Mamoru, damn his long legs. When we finally get back to his place, he unlocks the door quickly and ushers me inside, shutting the door behind him.

And we’re alone. Finally.

Drunk-Me was super excited at this prospect. Rapidly-Sobering-Me isn’t so sure. I bite my lip as Mamoru steps forward, reaching for me. I unconsciously take a step back until my back is against the wall, Mamoru pinning me between his body (and _oh_ what a body) and the impeccable off-white paint job. With this much contact between us, I can tell he is _ready_ to go, and I’m impressed he was able to walk that fast with a raging hard-on.

Though with our bodies pressed together like this, Mamoru can tell something’s off. “What’s wrong?” He asks, reaching up to cup my face with one hand, keeping his other braced against the wall behind me.

“I--” Ugh, is it a dick move to seduce your boyfriend and then decide, _oops_ , I lied, I’m not actually ready to have sex again, I was just a little drunk and feeling reckless and now that we’re alone together, I realize I have made a huge mistake? “I’m….”

“Usagi, it’s okay.” His thumb brushes my cheek soothingly. “Just tell me.”

His voice is so soft and _understanding_ that tears prick at the corners of my eyes. “I’m not ready to do this again,” I mumble. “I’m sorry.”

Mamoru’s thumb stills and I can’t look at his face. He pulls away, taking several steps back, and my body feels so cold without him pressed against me. Ugh, my traitorous body keeps screaming at me to get the fuck over it and get the fuck _under_ him.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper again. “I really--”

“Usagi, stop. It’s fine.” I risk a glance at his face and he’s completely sincere. “The last thing I want to do is make you feel...obligated to do something you don’t really want to.” He holds his hand out to me, and I take it, squeezing his fingers. “ _I’m_ sorry.”

“You didn’t,” I say. “I just...drunk-Usagi thought it was a good idea.”

Mamoru laughs. “Drunk-Usagi?”

I nod. “She can’t be trusted.”

“Fair enough.” Mamoru tugs slightly at my hand. I wrap my arms around his waist and bury my face against his chest, tucked safe and sound in his arms.

We stay like that for a few minutes before Mamoru wonders aloud what we should do now. “We could go back to the festival, or…?”

I take that opportunity to yawn instead, and Mamoru raises an eyebrow. “Or maybe not go back to the festival?” he asks with a slight laugh.

I nod. “Maybe not.”

“You can just stay here if you want?”

A few days ago, I wouldn’t have trusted myself to stay with him and _not_ have sex. But after this conversation, I actually feel pretty okay with it. “Yeah, that sounds good,” I say with a small smile. “If it’s okay with you?”

Mamoru grins. “Perfect.”

 

*

 

I text Rei and tell her that I’m spending the night with Mamoru and let her draw her own conclusions from there. Let her think whatever, and then be surprised when I tell her what _actually_ happened.

I borrow one of Mamoru’s t-shirts to sleep in and wait, curled up under his blankets while he brushes his teeth. He comes into the room, cuts off the lights and then crawls under the blankets next to me. I lie there for a second in the dark, waiting for him to say something or do something or _anything_. I don’t know what to do. I’ve never spent the night with a boyfriend and not had sex first. Okay, Seiya and I would cuddle and fall asleep together, but she almost always had to sneak out quickly so my parents didn’t find her. And there was usually a _lot_ of making out first. _This_ is a completely different scenario.

I can tell Mamoru is feeling a little awkward too, not totally sure what to do himself. Surprisingly, that makes me feel better, more so than if he was waiting to see what my move would be, bemused at my indecision.

Rather than make things more uncomfortable, I just roll over, settling on my side facing away from him. “Good night,” I say, and shut my eyes, trying to slow my rapidly beating heart.

“Good night,” Mamoru says, and is that disappointment I can hear in his voice?

I wait for a few minutes, eyes still shut, listening to him get settled next to me. When he’s settled, I scoot back just a tad, so I can press my side to his. Then, I feel him roll over, his arm draping across me, pulling my back against his chest. His arm settles perfectly against me, and he whispers, “Okay?”

It’s definitely okay. I can feel every breath Mamoru takes, the warmth of his body against mine wrapped around me like an extra blanket. “Yeah,” I murmur. I turn my head and kiss the underside of his chin. “Good night.”

He kisses my temple, smiling when he does. “Sleep well.”

 

*

 

Mamoru wakes me up with a gentle nudge to my side that becomes increasingly persistent when I don’t move. Finally, I groan and roll over, burrowing my face into the pillow. “Usagi, come on,” he says, mildly irritated.

“No. Sleep time now,” I mutter, my voice muffled by the pillow.

“Usagi, seriously.” I feel the bed shift as Mamoru sits next to me. “You can’t stay in _my_ bed all day.”

“You’ve never complained about that before,” I retort, though the effect is lost since my face is still covered by pillow.

I hear Mamoru sigh. Then a warm and very _heavy_ weight settles on top of me. I squeak in surprise and try to roll over, but I’m pinned by him. “Are you laying on me? Get _off_.”

He does, and I’m able to roll over and give him a furious glare, which he returns with an amused smirk. “Got you up, didn’t it?” he says.

“Ugh, _fine_.”

Mamoru is, of course, already showered and dressed. Probably had some breakfast or something. Ran a few miles or whatever. I drag myself from the comfy coziness of his bed and throw on last night’s clothes to run over to my house.

“Did you have any plans for today?” Mamoru asks while I’m dressing.

“The girls and I wanted to explore the other end of the island today. Do some shopping and whatever.” I glance over my shoulder at him and he looks kind of disappointed. My first thought is to invite him along, but it’s supposed to be a girls’ trip, and I wouldn’t feel right inviting him without asking my friends first.

And honestly? I need a little breathing room after our awkwardness last night. Even though Mamoru was super nice about everything and understanding, I’m still a little embarrassed about it.

I lean over and kiss his cheek. “I’ll call you when we get back later, okay?”

He nods and gives me a half-hearted smile. _Uh oh_. The last time he did that, we broke up. But I mean, we’re past all that silliness now, right? We’ve affirmed our feelings for one another, and everything’s going to be _fine_.

 

*

 

Mamoru lies on the couch, idly flipping through TV channels, never settling on one for long. The guys are packing and cleaning the house to leave tomorrow afternoon. Mamoru will drive them to the airport and then head back to his own apartment. The guys all have different flights back to their own worlds, their own lives, and Mamoru always feels a sense of melancholy the day before they leave, knowing it will be months before they’ll all see each other again.

Zeke plops down on the couch next to him, shoving Mamoru’s feet gracelessly off the cushion to make room. “What’cha watching?” he asks.

Mamoru doesn’t respond, just tosses the remote in Zeke’s general direction. He ignores the gleeful noise that Zeke makes as he starts flipping through channels at twice the pace that Mamoru did. He finally settles on a reality show full of tanned model-types yelling at each other about nothing. Mamoru sighs.

Zoned out from the TV show, Mamoru’s thoughts turn inward, which is always a dangerous thing. He thinks about how he’ll miss having his friends around, the support system that they always bring with them. But mostly, he thinks about Usagi.

He thinks about how happy she is, how he’s slowly erasing the image of her tearful eyes and her soft “I-I love you,” when he broke her heart. But then again…. _She’s guarded now_ , he thinks. He can see it in the way her smile doesn’t quite light up her eyes the way it used to. In the way she pulled away from him the previous night. She needed to be drunk to make a move, and when she sobered up...the look on her face was the worst thing ever. She looked confused and uncomfortable. It makes his stomach knot up and his chest feel tight. Even though she stayed the night with him, and everything _seemed_ fine, he can feel a chasm opening up between them and he isn’t sure how to close the gap.

“Okay, I can hear you thinking from here,” Zeke says, turning the volume down. “What’s up, buttercup?”

Mamoru cuts his eyes at him, deciding whether or not to open up about his concerns. Zeke is one of his best friends, so why should he feel worried? The guys still don’t know _exactly_ what happened between him and Usagi last semester. All they care about is that Mamoru is happy _now_ and so is Usagi. The way they see it, two people who are attracted to each other and care about each other are together and that’s something wonderful in the world.

“Seriously, dude.” Zeke nudges Mamoru’s leg with his foot. “What’s going on?”

“Am I...doing the right thing?” Mamoru asks after a moment. _Be more vague, Chiba_ , _damn_.

“Um…?”

“With Usagi,” Mamoru clarifies. “I just feel like...she’s put her guard up with me. And you don’t know her that well, but that’s kind of a big deal.”

“No, I can see where that would be, um, out of character for her. She’s very outgoing.” Zeke rubs his chin in thought. “So you think she’s not being honest with you?”

No, honesty was not something he was worried about with Usagi. Even with her guard up, she still spoke her mind for the most part. On the beach that night, she said she was in love with him again and even told him _why_. All he had said was that he wanted her too, to be with her. “No, I...I don’t know.”

“Want to know what I think?”

“That _is_ why I’m talking to you,” Mamoru deadpans.

“I think you broke her heart and she’s still working on getting to the point where she can trust you again.” Zeke gives him a flat look. “Didn’t you break up with her when you were worried about your relationship instead of, I don’t know, _talking_ to her about it?” Zeke lifted an eyebrow, his expression dubious. “Can you blame her for being a little closed off right now?”

“No,” Mamoru mumbles. “I don’t. I don’t even know why she agreed to date me again.”

“Because she loves you, stupid.” Zeke chucks a pillow at his head and Mamoru only just catches it before it slams into his face. “And my advice? Open up to her and she’ll return the favor. Relationships are a two-way street, dude.”

Mamoru throws the pillow back at Zeke. “What the fuck do you know about relationships?” he teases. “Every person you sleep with doesn’t even get a phone call the next day.”

Zeke laughs, flipping his hair over his shoulder. “What can I say? I’m a love ‘em, then leave ‘em guy.”

“Asshole.” But Mamoru does feel better, he realizes. He’ll talk to Usagi, have a nice long talk with her once they get back to school. The idea makes his stomach knot up again, but he holds on to the hope that it’ll bring them closer together, something he never thought he would ever want in a million years but can’t bear to be without anymore.

Zeke turns the volume back up on the TV just as Kadir comes slamming through the front door, stomping through the living room and upstairs. Zeke and Mamoru exchange questioning looks. “Rock, paper, scissors to see who asks what’s wrong?” Zeke asks in a low voice.

“No need.” Jun waltzes in, shutting the door quietly behind him. He sprawls out on the armchair opposite the couch and says in a conspiratorial whisper, “He just talked to Minako.”

“Ah,” they say at the same time. Enough said.

 

*

 

Luckily the guys booked their flights for the afternoon and evening, so Mamoru doesn’t even start rounding them up to leave until well after lunch. By two o’ clock, they are all piled into the rental Kadir had generously paid for, Mamoru behind the wheel, and headed to the airport.

They ride mostly in silence for awhile until Jun asks Nate how his last night with Makoto went. “Well, we broke up,” Nate says in response. “Well...I mean, we didn’t really _date_ , but we’re not going to do the long-distance thing.”

“That sucks,” Jun says with a frown. “You guys were pretty good together.”

Nate shrugs. “I was honest with her and said I didn’t think it would work.” He adds, “I didn’t say we couldn’t _ever_ see each other again. Just...not right now.”

“And she was okay with it?” Mamoru asks. Makoto’s a pretty laid back person, so Mamoru isn’t really surprised. Then again, Nate and Mako spent most of the week completely wrapped up in each other, so it is a little strange that they would just end it like that.

Nate nods. “Yeah, she wasn’t, you know, _happy_ about it,” he explains, “but she understood. We’ll just see what happens in the future.”

“You should always be honest with someone you care about,” Kadir says suddenly. “If you aren’t, you’re just a coward. Plain and simple.”

“I don’t know if it’s _that_ simple,” Jun says. Mamoru remembers Kadir’s foul mood yesterday after probably having a similar break up conversation with Minako. But Minako isn’t nearly the calming presence that Makoto is.

“No,” Kadir says firmly. “You might hurt someone, but being honest is the best thing. Get it all out there and in the open. No excuses.”

Mamoru knows he isn’t, but somehow it feels like Kadir is talking to _him_. After all, he kept his real feelings from Usagi, saying that it was to protect her, but it was really to protect _himself_. He _was_ being a coward, and looking back, he can’t think of an excuse for his behavior. He hurt her, someone he loved, so that he didn’t have to deal with his own feelings.

Oh god, he has to tell her. _Now_.

Mamoru slams on the brakes, quickly pulling off to the side of the road. “I have to go back,” Mamoru says. The guys all turn to him with confused looks. “Seriously.”

“Mamoru, what’s going on? Are you okay?” Kadir asks, an alarmed look on his face.

“Dude, are you going to hurl or something?” Zeke asks, his voice climbing in pitch. “Because I swear to _fucking_ god---”

“I’m not going to puke!” Mamoru scrubs his fingers through his hair, making a frustrated noise. “I just...I _have_ to go back." He pushes open the car door and starts down the highway in the opposite direction, his mind focused on only one thing.

He hears the other doors opening, his friends spilling out of the car. “Mamoru, what are you doing?” Kadir calls.

“I have to talk to Usagi!” Mamoru yells over his shoulder.

“ _Now_?” Nate asks incredulously.

“Yes!” Why is this so difficult for them to understand? If he doesn’t do it now, he’ll lose his nerve and it’ll sit in the back of his mind forever, always weighing on him.

“Mamoru, get back in the car,” Kadir shouts.

“I have to go now--”

He’s cut off by hands on his arms, literally turning him around and back toward the vehicle. “What the _fuck_ \---”

“You aren’t _walking_ all the way back, you idiot,” Kadir snaps. “We’ll drive you.”

“Oh.” Mamoru stops struggling, suddenly realizing how amazing his friends actually are. They probably think he’s an idiot, but they’re appeasing him anyway. “Thanks, guys.”

Kadir grumbles as he climbs into the driver’s seat and peels away from the curb. “You better marry this girl, Chiba,” Mamoru hears him mutter mostly to himself.

 _Maybe_. Mamoru smiles.

 

*

 

“So no long-distance relationship?”

Mako and I are loading stuff into the car for the trip back to school. She’s been telling me about her and Nate’s conversation, re: their future relationship. She’s surprisingly chipper about it.

“I was actually kind of relieved,” Mako admits. “I kept thinking about how we would make it work, and it just...didn’t seem like it _would_ work.”

“Well, I’m glad you guys talked it out, at least,” I say, patting her shoulder. “And who knows what’ll happen in the future, right?” I give her a reassuring smile which she returns happily.

Minako appears at the top of the steps and just _throws_ her bag down without a word. Then she disappears again.

Mako and I exchange worried glances. Minako’s been withdrawn and surly since yesterday afternoon, and while her weird mood swings aren’t that strange to us anymore, we can’t help but worry anyway.

“I think she may have had a similar talk with Kadir,” Mako whispers to me.

“And she clearly didn’t take it as well as you did,” I add. We both sigh.

We’re outside playing luggage Tetris with our numerous bags when I hear a car pull up behind the house next door. Mako looks over the top of my head, confused, and says, “Isn’t that the guys’ car…?”

My head whips around, and I see of all people, _Mamoru_ come leaping out of the car, running across the lawn, and _vaulting_ the fence that separates our houses. Um, _what_?

“What are you doing here?” I ask when he’s within earshot. “I thought you guys were headed to the airport?”

Mamoru has to take a minute to catch his breath, bending over with his hands on his knees while he tries to speak. Mako keeps looking between us with an expression that is equal parts alarmed and amused.

“Mamoru?”

“I had...to come back here...because I love you.”

At first, I think I may have heard him wrong. I _must_ have. Because that would be something spontaneous and a little bit crazy, both of which are two things Mamoru Chiba is decidedly not.

“I mean, I didn’t run over here because I love you. I did that because I have to _tell_ you that I love you. And if I don’t do it now, I might not, and I think that might actually kill me.”

Mako starts sneaking back toward the house, but I _know_ she’s going to run in and tell the girls everything. However, I decide to focus on Mamoru. “You...love me?” I ask, my heart racing.

“Yes,” he says, and when he looks up at me, oh god, his eyes are full of tears. “I should have told you when you said it, but I was so scared and that’s not an excuse, but...I’m just so sorry. For everything.”

I open my mouth to respond, but Mamoru just keeps plowing on. “I love you. So much. You’re _perfect_.” He pauses and adds, “Okay, not _perfect_ , there’s a lot wrong with you.” His eyes widen as he realizes what he’s said. “Shit, wait, that’s not what I meant. I mean you have _flaws_ , but everyone does, but...fuck, I’m so bad at this.”

My brain is still struggling to catch up with what’s going on. Mamoru Chiba is standing on my lawn (well not _mine_ per se, but anyway) confessing his love to me... _in front_ of all my friends. I’m obviously flattered at the grand declaration, but mostly, I’m just wondering what _alien_ abducted my boyfriend.

So instead of saying, _Oh yes, I love you too,_ I blurt out, “Are you _feeling_ okay?”

Mamoru stares at me for a second before he just bursts out laughing. “No, I think my heart might actually beat out of my chest and I’m extremely aware of your friends staring at us...is it possible to die from embarrassment?”

“Probably not.” I join his laughter, my brain finally letting me process what just happened. _He loves me! He really loves me!_ “But I guess you’ll find out for us.”

“Ha ha.” Mamoru closes the distance between us, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tight. He presses his forehead to mine and takes a deep breath, like he’s survived a trying ordeal, which I suppose for Mamoru, this _was_.

I press my lips to the corner of his mouth, smiling when I feel the corners of his lips lift slightly. “Oh, and I love you too,” I murmur, kissing him deeply, sighing into his mouth.

When he pulls away, he’s smirking. “That’s good because this would have been _really_ awkward if you didn’t…”

 

*

 

Mamoru has to leave almost immediately following the Grand Declaration of Love because the guys still need to go to the airport and he still needs to drive back to campus. Reluctantly, I bid him goodbye and help the girls finish packing and cleaning up the house, an extra spring in my step because _for once_ , I have no reservations, no sneaking worries. Everything is going to be _fine_. For real this time. No more saying it to convince myself. _This_ time, I one-hundred percent believe it’s true.

When we do get back to campus, and Mako dumps me and Minako off at our dorm, I throw my bags down in the middle of the floor and _run_ over to Mamoru’s apartment, knocking on his door in record-breaking time.

He answers with a bemused smirk, mostly at the fact that I’m completely out of breath, leaning against the door frame for support. I want for him to make a smart quip, but instead he just tugs on my hand, pulling me into the apartment.

I stumble right into his chest, which is fine because he immediately leans down and kisses me soundly. “God, I missed you,” he murmurs against my mouth.

“It’s only been a few hours, Mamoru,” I point out, though I’m still grinning, my fingers curling into the fabric of his t-shirt.

Mamoru’s lips slide from mine along my jawline and down my neck. I’m already pulling at the hem of his shirt, trying to pull it up over his head which is difficult when his mouth is attached to my neck and shoulders. “Mamoru,” I whine, tugging at his shirt a little harder.

I feel his smile pressed against my skin as he quickly yanks his shirt over his head and tosses it behind him. “I think I have a lot to make up to you,” he murmurs, cupping my face with his hand and brushing his thumb against my cheek.

I cover his hand with mine, pressing my fingers between his. “Better get started then,” I say with a smirk. He laughs.

I want to be cute and sexy when I pull my tank top over my head, but as soon as the fabric leaves my skin, I’m swept up quite literally in Mamoru’s arms. I yelp in surprise, my gasp fading into laughter, as he picks me up and carries me into his bedroom, placing me on his sheets...okay, more like dumping me on his sheets so he can get undressed more quickly. I take the opportunity to shimmy out of my shorts and underwear as well, watching as he crawls onto the mattress towards me, his mouth ducking to my belly, placing small kisses and nips there.

“What do I have to do?” he whispers, his breath making shivers run down my spine as it fans out over my skin.

“I think indentured servitude will do quite nicely,” I respond, trying to keep a straight face, but my lips curl into a silly grin anyway. “You know, doing each and every little thing that pops into my head for me. Nothing major.”

Mamoru groans. “You know, I think I’m rethinking this whole thing come to think of it.” He pretends to get up, pushing himself off the mattress and taking with him his ridiculously nice warmth.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” I say, grabbing his arms and pulling him back to me. He settles on top of me, bracing most of his weight with his hands on either side of my head, his hips fitted perfectly against mine. “I’ll only ask you to do _pretty much_ everything I say.”

“Oh, well if it’s _just_ that...” Mamoru rolls his eyes and leans down and pecks my nose with a gentle kiss. “I think I can manage.”

“Good.” I wind my fingers in his hair then, pulling his mouth to mine in a searing kiss. He groans again, but this time from pure pleasure as his mouth slots against mine, his hips rolling against me.

We take our time, like out on the beach, just exploring each other, feeling content that we have all the time we want now. It might be forever. It might not. But in this moment, it doesn’t matter. We have each other _right now_ , and that’s all I could ever want, and I know he feels the same way too.

And as I lie there with him, his arms warm around me, perfectly content as we both start to fall asleep, I can’t help but think about how my life is changing so quickly. I’m hurtling toward the end of my second year of college. I have a boyfriend who I’m madly in love with and who loves me back. And it’s not just the fun, not-super-serious relationship I had with Seiya, like this is the real deal, a real adult relationship. And shouldn’t that terrify me? Shouldn’t all this stuff terrify me? 

Every time I think it will, or anxiety tries to sneak up on me, I remember that I have so much back up. Why should I be worried?

I guess that doesn’t mean I will _never_ worry, or that it won’t be difficult, but I can handle it. And it makes me excited for my future. I have my girls, who will always have my back no matter what. And I have Mamoru now, who I know will always be there too. And I know I’ll be there for him too, to support and love him as much as he will for me.

I don’t know what’s going to happen, no idea what the future holds.

But I’m excited to see.  

 

*

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TA-DA! We finally got to our happy ending! Not just for Usagi-and-Mamoru, but Usagi herself (and Mamoru too haha). I think with this chapter I hit almost all the major rom-com tropes: spontaneous love declaration, drunk singing, random hookups.....
> 
> Like I said, this AU has been tons of fun to write and while I'm sad that it's over, I'm kind of glad to be able to move on to new things so watch this space! (That being said, I will TOTALLY be revisiting this AU in the future, I have tons of one-shot ideas, mostly of the smutty variety mwahaha). 
> 
> I want to thank my amazing beta, [feoplepeel](http://archiveofourown.org/users/feoplepeel), who is working on an awesome Hawke/Varric kidfic atm that you guys should totes check out. I also want to thank everyone who's commented and subscribed and found me on tumblr and talked to me about Usagi/Mamoru and Sailor Moon in general. I meant what I said above, if I could meet you all in person, it would make me so incredibly happy because you are so sweet and nice and fun! Hope you guys enjoyed the fic, and I'll see you in the next one <3 <3 <3


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